#BTEditorial – Union, hoteliers credibility crisis

There is a well-worn Barbadian saying that, “It is not what you do but how you do it.”

That statement is connected to the conservative nature of Barbadians. That traditional, somewhat old-fashioned way of approaching issues has been undergoing some change.

Boys are now allowed to plait or twist their hair for school; they can even choose not to comb it and that would not cause them to face a question in the principal’s office.

The state is selling licences to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes and guys and girls are walking the streets smoking weed-filled cigarettes with no reaction from the police or the average citizen.

Not long ago, it was frowned on to walk the streets and eat. It was a long-held rule that you disciplined yourself to hold on to that meal or snack until you reached home, work or school, where you would sit down to eat. Walking the streets while eating from plastic or Styrofoam containers means you are likely to throw that container or bottle into a nearby bush or drop it along the roadway.

From these small social changes, we can establish a connection with some of the other big issues with which we are grappling.

Yes, Barbados is changing, and some people insist that we must stop complaining and get used to it.

In recent months, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) began releasing some interesting, playful videos with BWU staff responding to the latest online dance challenge. We even saw the humourous one created to soca artiste Problem Child’s hugely popular Holiday hit, known for its “not going to work today” refrain.

The result was increased clicks, likes, and followers on Instagram and Facebook. It is a well-known strategy and a strategic move by the 82-year-old trade union seeking to maintain its place in an age of social media and artificial intelligence.

Confronting a great deal of apathy in the trade union movement, the BWU and others have been losing members. The once powerful BWU hotel division has suffered tremendous atrophy. The COVID-19 pandemic did not help as it was the hardest hit sector on the island.

It is still fresh in the collective memory of Barbadians the trials of tourism workers in hotels and restaurants specifically, who were forced to take to the streets to protest their abysmal and undignified treatment by employers.

Here we are in 2023 with the tourism arrivals almost back to pre-pandemic levels but the complaints of these workers are also on the rise. Tourism workers believe they are not treated with respect and are viewed as dispensable. They are employed in a sector deemed most important to the economic survival of Barbados, yet as far as they are concerned, they are treated like trash. Their pay remains on the lowest rung, not much more than security guards and gas station workers, and employee turnover may be just as high. Seldom are there stories of happy, contented tourism workers.

There is no denying the exodus of top tier tourism employees to cruise ship operators, the hospitality sector in North America, and even Dubai, all of which launched aggressive recruiting on the island.

Many hospitality workers who were left to struggle on their own during the pandemic took the plunge to become self-employed, finding greater satisfaction hustling on their own than being at the mercy of ungrateful employers.

Consequently, the forceful social media campaign launched by the BWU  telling the horror stories of workers has ruffled the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA). We would be surprised if the BHTA’s own internal research has not revealed endemic employee dissatisfaction.

The BWU and the BHTA are both organisations that have arguably lost credibility with workers in the sector. Both entities need to demonstrate that they are not operating in self-interest but are genuinely prioritising the men and women who are the backbone of the island’s tourism.