By Sandy Deane
Mere hours after outgoing Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Renee Coppin announced a 10 per cent pay hike for tourism workers over the next three years as a successful outcome of wage negotiations, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) has categorically denied any such deal.
Deputy General Secretary Dwaine Paul described the revelation as “premature” and insisted that the claims were not only unfounded but regrettable.
Earlier on Thursday, Coppin told the first quarterly meeting of the grouping at the Radisson Aquatica Resort, that the two sides have been in negotiations since November 2022 and while the collective bargaining agreement is yet to be finalised, the BHTA was pleased to report that they have “reached agreement on most of the outstanding matters.”
Coppin added: “While there are now only 22 of our over 80 hotel members who are signatories to the agreement, the most critical element of the agreement that has traditionally been followed by the members of this industry has been the agreements to provide increases. Due to the protracted nature of this negotiation, we are aware that some properties have gone ahead to grant these increases.
“We are however pleased to advise that we have agreed that notwithstanding the preferred practice of having the agreement completed and signed prior to any payments being made.”
The BHTA said the new wage rates will take effect from April pay dates:
Year 1 (15 Dec 2021 to 14 Dec 2022) – 0 (due to COVID)
Year 2 (15 Dec 2022 to 14 Dec 2023) – 3 per cent
Year 3 (15 Dec 2023 to 14 Dec 2024) – 3 per cent
Year 4 (15 Dec 2024 to 14 Dec 2025) – 4 per cent
“This represents a cumulative of ten per cent,” the BHTA chair declared, adding that workers who have been awaiting the news would be delighted and that BHTA members were happy that their employees would receive the long-awaited adjustments.
But according to the BWU, three critical issues in the talks have not been settled and therefore “the union cannot concede or say in any way that negotiations have been concluded without settlement of the three issues”.
BWU Deputy General Secretary Dwaine Paul. (FP)
Paul listed those issues as wages and salaries, retroactive payments of those wages and salaries, uniforms and meal allowances.
“The issue of meal allowance has been the single biggest matter to be discussed at the table, which is surprising in the negotiation for an industry, which prides itself on providing quality meals for visitors and therefore, we would have expected that this would not have been an issue for those workers who actually prepare and serve these meals on a daily basis partaking in such,” he said.
On wages, salaries and retroactive pay, the union deputy questioned whether the position tabled by the BHTA chairman indicates acceptance of the proposal on wages and salaries and the payment of the retroactive pay.
Paul suggested this was an “unfortunate effort to try to intimidate the workers into moving away from their position as it relates to conditions.
He maintained that unionised workers believe that conditions matter more than wages and salaries in some cases and that it was insulting for the hoteliers to want to respond to one aspect of the negotiation and not the others.
“We would like to see clarity come out and a fuller statement issued as it relates to the full content of the negotiations on where we have reached. And if we have agreed, and I don’t see why we should not have had an agreement given the announcement of the bountiful performance of the sector which is carried on the back of workers. And therefore we should be in a position to sign off on the agreement momentarily to have the workers benefit from the bounty that is being now announced by the BHTA. The Barbados Workers Union awaits a direct communication on the matter,” Paul said.
sandydeane@barbadostoday.bb
