The Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) has responded to a recent full-page advertisement taken out by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) in various media outlets and social media platforms.
The BWU criticized the BHTA for spreading what it terms “their own facts” through a paid advertisement campaign in the aftermath of the announcement of the national minimum legislation for the hotel sector.
General Secretary Toni Moore has voiced a strong statement highlighting the Union’s position and its unwavering commitment to the cause of hotel workers. The BWU firmly asserts that it will not back down or be swayed by the BHTA’s attempts to manipulate public opinion through paid advertisements.
“The recent actions of the BHTA are not only disappointing but are a clear attempt to derail the progress made towards fair legislation for hotel workers,” Moore said.
“These paid advertisements are a disingenuous effort to cloud the public’s understanding of the issue at hand. The BWU remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving fairness and justice for our workers.”
Below is the full statement from the BWU’s General Secretary:
The Executive Council of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) finds the public advertisement from the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) to be most bewildering, especially given the distance that has been covered through dialogue which commenced 18 weeks ago under the Chairmanship of the Ministers of Labour and Tourism.
This public ad from the BHTA begs the question, “What is their motive?”. On December 04, 2023, after a series of meetings, the BHTA accepted the agreement as outlined by the Ministers on a number of proposals that had been the subject of discussion. One of these included the commitment to the passage of legislation to establish national standards to govern entities in the hotel sector that benefit from concessions and waivers.
It is, therefore, strange that one week after the Prime Minister publicised that commitment, which was agreed to by both the BWU and the BHTA in her Address to the country, that they would now be calling for wider stakeholder consultation beyond the hotel sector. To date, the BWU has not addressed this issue more widely. Instead, we have focused over the past five months on the hotel sector as a priority. This focus on the hotel sector was outlined as far back as May Day 2023 when the BWU indicated that it would be shifting attention from the Construction Sector, where rates were established under the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Act to the hotel sector as part of our post-COVID engagement. In case it is lost on anyone, it is our intention for all other sectors to be appropriately streamlined as well.
Our consultation with the workers in the hotel sector has been comprehensive. At the meetings chaired by the Government ministers, a number of hotel owners and managers were present, including some who had been allowed by the BHTA to opt out of the Collective Agreement and others who were never even signatories to the Collective Agreement.
Indeed, since December 04, the only issue that remains to be settled is the legislative language around the terms and principles that were agreed on prior to that date. It was, therefore, alarming to the B.W.U. when the BHTA refused to participate in a signing ceremony on December 20, 2023, given that they were essentially only signing on to what was previously agreed upon with them and by them during our meetings. Indeed, much of the language was settled on December 04, 2023.
So, to reopen this issue in a public advertisement a day ago represents bad faith and disrespect – not for the Union this time – but for the Government Ministers who chaired that session.
For the BWU, while others may benefit from tax concessions and will have to be streamlined, the accommodation sector is foremost under our radar for streamlining. This sector is that which benefits most from concessions – both for capital expenditure and for daily expenses. The BWU is satisfied that there has been more than enough consultation on the principles and terms that should be used to establish a national minimal standard of labour conditions to govern the accommodation sector, and from where we sit, we are now only awaiting the draft arrangements to be finalised by February 01.
Indeed, it is for this reason that the BWU did not make a fuss over the non-signing of the document on February 20, 2023, since the agreements were already made by December 04, 2023, and that signing was merely a ceremonial occasion.
The BWU expects that the same legislation will be extended to other groupings which also benefit from tax concessions, and our awareness of the procedure informs us that whenever consultations with these respective areas have been completed, that legislation will be extended to govern them as well and will be done by Ministerial Order.
It is, therefore, on the basic principle of the legislation which was passed by the BWU’s first president, who went on to be the first Prime Minister of Barbados, the Right Excellent Grantley Adams, that the BWU will continue to insist that where you benefit from public money, you must commit to and adhere to minimum standards of labour. That legislation referred to benefits derived as a result of receiving government contracts. In this case, the legislation will extend to persons benefitting from government foregoing taxes and other revenues. In both cases, the principle governs those entities that are benefitting from public money. Hence the requirement by the Union and the government to treat workers fairly.
THE BWU awaits, therefore, the circulation of the draft bill to make sure that it is consistent with the terms agreed during our discussions so that hotel workers who showed their deep commitment to this country and this sector in the middle of the pandemic by agreeing to curtail their rights to avoid the bankruptcy of the N.I.S. and the very hotels that appear reluctant to treat them fairly, may now have their commitment to saving this country honoured in a very tangible way.
At some other point in time, the BWU will address the red herrings raised in the public ad by the BHTA, including the specifics that relate to the Collective Agreement and other issues that reflect the BHTA’s disregard for established norms, the principles of fair negotiation and industry standards. NOW is NOT the time for the BWU or others to be derailed by this failed attempt on the part of the BHTA.
To the BHTA, let this be clear: your tactics of disruption and delay are recognised for what they are and will not be tolerated. The welfare of our hotel workers remains paramount, and we will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure their fair treatment.
(PR)
