Newly appointed minister for economic affairs and investment Senator Chad Blackman has defended the government’s moves to enact new labour standards regulations, declaring that in the post-COVID age, more corporations are looking to establish operations in territories that safeguard and promote workers’ rights.
He rebuffed suggestions of government overreach in the Labour Clauses (Concessions) Bill as he appeared on the One-on-One interview series hosted by the government public relations agency, the Public Affairs Department.
Senator Blackman, who was a senior advisor to the head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said the bill should rather be seen as following the example of other international jurisdictions that have had to adjust to the present concerns of workers following the height of the COVID pandemic.
He told the television programme: “There is a movement around the world, particularly in the international labour context, that businesses, believe it or not, are actually looking to do business in jurisdictions that have a set of values of sustainability and labour rights. When you look at the post-COVID reality where a number of persons would have been dislocated because of the pandemic, more and more there is a demand for workers to be able to have their rights guaranteed.
Jurisdictions that have proven through legislation and practice as well, that they will respect the rights of their workers, they are now starting to see those destinations and jurisdictions becoming more and more in demand as a place to do business.”
The Labour Clauses (Concessions) Bill seeks to establish minimum employment terms and conditions for employees who work for businesses that receive government concessions. The legislation also allows for the suspension of concessions for enterprises that do not comply with the framework legislation.
Senator Blackman stressed that as a country which relies heavily on tourism and all of its connecting industries for economic growth, it’s imperative for the government and all other parties to guarantee minimum standards for all workers.
“This country is built on tourism between the last 40 years, for example,” Senator Blackman said. “We have to ensure that our number one sector that drives the economy, has a minimum threshold of standards that ensures that the people who are building not only on the back of the tourism sector, but by virtue of that sector being our lead income earner, that those persons are guaranteed standards.
“I’m sure that we all have family, friends, relatives, and neighbours, who work in the industry. It’s not just about tourism [however] it’s about workers across the board, and what will Barbados be known for.
“You can not be competitive in a situation where those competitive practices are to the detriment of the worker.”
(SB)
