Union prepared for wages, cost of living discussions

As Barbadians prepare to pay more on their electricity bills this month and brace for further increases in overall commodity prices, one labour union is putting private sector employers on notice that it will also be pursuing salary and terms and conditions of service negotiations for its members.

Customers of the Barbados Light & Power Company (BLPC) can expect the jump in bills due to a hike in the Fuel Clause Adjustment, which rose as a result of higher international oil prices.

The fuel clause adjustment for May is 49.5636 cents per KWh, almost double what it was for May 2021 (29.9832 cents per KWh), and just over three times what it was in 2020 (16.2176 cents per KWh) when international oil prices were lower.

Additionally, the BLPC has applied to the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) for a rate increase, which if granted, would see households and businesses paying more for electricity. Public hearings on the rate increase process are expected to start this month.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Toni Moore disclosed on Thursday that the cap on the Value Added Tax (VAT) announced in the March budget was one of the suggestions from the BWU, but acknowledged that it may have not gone far enough, given the range of issues driving up the energy costs.

She said the BWU has scheduled an executive meeting for next week to consider “a number of options . . . as we contemplate what other solutions we can put to government now that aren’t just wild or that we will suggest because we can suggest, but are things that will be practicable and that could really make a difference”.

However, Moore said this would also include the private sector.

“All of us, we are not just feeling it in terms of the gas bill. You are feeling it in terms of your light bill. Cost of living increases are difficult in the environment although we push ahead with those. So our monies have not necessarily kept pace with the changes taking place in the cost of living. Those are very high priority areas right now for the Barbados Workers’ Union across all levels, not only for the public sector, but as we consider salary negotiations for the private sector as well,” said Moore.

Late last month, Moore indicated that while a pay hike was not entirely off the table, the BWU would be pushing for improved terms and conditions of service for Government employees.

Speaking with the media on Thursday, after signing an agreement that would see Emera Caribbean investing in a major solar photovoltaic energy plant on land owned by the BWU in Mangrove, St Philip, Moore disclosed that some private sector entities have been increasing wages, albeit smaller than in previous years.

However, while she was unable to say how many private sector entities on whose behalf the union was presently engaging in wage and terms and conditions of service negotiations, she disclosed that at the end of last year there were some 25 companies.

Noting that one of those negotiations concluded earlier this week as the company dodged a public dispute, Moore said it was only fitting that when a private sector firm sees major profits that it “give the workers a little something”.

“That is how we look at it. By the same token, there are some companies that cannot, there are some companies hanging on by a string and those are considerations that we take into account when we get into the room and the information is presented in a way and it is verifiable,” she said.

Moore pointed out that the BWU executive council has not revised its wages proposal for the last ten years, which is generally a 15 per cent increase.

However, pointing out that the dynamics for negotiations and worker representation were not black and white and depended on the circumstance of each company, Moore suggested that a salary increase may not be the way for some firms.

“What that says to companies is not that we expect to get 15 per cent, but we see it as an indicative proposal that recognises that the private sector is not homogenous and therefore, we want to talk. Let’s get into it, if you say you can’t do it, let us see the facts, let’s look at the books, let’s look at your operations, let’s measure what you are or aren’t doing against what your workers can actually see, and there are some companies that are way more advanced that have very mature agreements with advanced terms and conditions,” she said.

“The same thing that we have suggested for the public sector, we think is more applicable now. Where you cannot give a worker a two per cent or three per cent [increase], can we look at things like medical insurance plans, because as costs of energy impact costs all over, workers need a little ease. You need to be able to know that if you go to a doctor and he recommends that you have a procedure you don’t have to wait until the QEH has the capacity to accommodate, but with a medical plan you can access these things,” said Moore.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb