As he announced his resignation as president of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), Edwin O’Neal on Thursday urged the labour movement to recommit to being the voice of the worker and to fully engage with authorities in matters related to impending changes to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
He said the input of the movement must be aimed at arriving at the best outcome for Barbadians.
The proposed NIS changes include raising the pensionable age from 67 to 67 ½ years in 2028, and then to 68 years in 2034; increasing the age at which Barbadians become eligible to receive a reduced pension from 60 to 61 in 2025, to 62 years in 2028, and to 63 years in 2031; and transforming the NIS into a commercial state-owned enterprise.
Addressing the CTUSAB’s midterm delegates conference, the outgoing president of the umbrella organisation for trade unions in Barbados said: “We must be prepared to fully engage and pursue our participation to a reasonable conclusion for the benefit of those who have contributed to the National Insurance Fund and Scheme, but ever mindful that the National Insurance is an integral part of the Barbadian society, and no matter how protective or how emotional we feel about it, our inputs must be with the understanding that at the end of the day, it makes no sense in having short-terms gains and then wreck the longer term, which is Barbados.”
Disclosing that his address would be the final one as CTUSAB president, as he had already tendered his resignation to the executive board, the 65-year-old O’Neal added: “As I take my leave, I urge that the labour movement recommit to being the voice of the worker…. Health and safety in the workplace cannot be sacrificed for short-term gain. The dignity of work and the hope of a prosperous and safe Barbados must always be foremost in the minds of us as we move towards a better day.”
He told the gathering in the East Caribbean Conference of Seventh Day Adventist Conference Centre that the pinnacle of his time at the helm of the organisation was the resuscitation of the May Day Rally held at Golden Square, the birthplace of the trade union movement.
“The fact that the Congress returned to that place two years ago to start again the May Day Rally is, to my mind, the greatest tribute that could be paid to those that made the ultimate sacrifice and other sacrifices that we in Barbados today can have the standard of living that we now enjoy,” he said.
“The lowest point of my term was when, as a trade union movement, we abandoned the principle of the strong standing together in defence of the weak. It is a memory that will, in all probability, stay with me until my dying day. I hope that it is never ever repeated again in the annals of the Barbadian labour movement.”
During his address, O’Neal called for stiff resolutions “never to do for short political gain or popularity”.
He also highlighted the labour movement’s concerns about the state of crime and inconsistencies within some job promotional systems.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb
