Amid trade union calls for wage hikes for public servants, chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Trisha Tannis has contended that any pay increases must be matched by enhanced productivity, output, and efficiency.
She said this is necessary in order for wage adjustments not to contribute to further increases in the cost of living.
“What we do not want is that the adjustment goes in one pocket and comes out in the other, which we have seen in the last 18 months,” Tannis said as she briefly touched on the issue on Monday, when she delivered remarks at the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) Labour Day Rally and Concert at the Golden Square Freedom Park.
Her comments come on the heels of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), the umbrella body for the island’s trade unions, calling for a wage hike for public servants given the increased cost of living in Barbados.
During her address, Tannis also indicated that she was prepared to work with stakeholders to spearhead long overdue but critical analysis and research to identify the major sources of value chain inflation and inefficiency in the cost of goods and services in the country.
The BPSA chairman said that in that analysis, the value of re-examining the concept of capital when speaking of business, to one which better conveys the concept of inclusion of all involved in business, should be heavily weighted and prioritised.
She stressed that the time has come for workers to get involved in capital ownership.
“It is high time that labour, workers, look in the mirror and see the face of capital ownership as their right. A revised concept of capital, I believe, will result in a paradigm shift that would also redound to a national awakening of our customer service, quality, personal motivation, and productivity. And this shift would also hasten the incubation of a new class of capital ownership that springs forth from the grassroots and belly of the working class of this nation,” Tannis said.
She said such research is necessary if sustainably affordable market prices of goods and services are desired in the country.
Tannis said that in looking to the future, in the spirit of collaboration, Labour Day this year should signal a commitment to the engagement, leading to wealth creation in Barbados not only for a select few but for the majority of the population. (AH)
