Treat workers with respect

Barbados’ struggle to turn the tide on anti-social behaviour and the circumstances that are leading so many young people to negative interactions with the criminal justice system, is growing.

Many  seeking to discover the underlying causes are constantly citing the economic circumstances of many families, evolving values, and the recognition that about approximately 20 to 25 per cent of homes in Barbados are operating below the poverty line.

It is true that there was a time when the vast majority of Barbadians languished at the bottom of the economic scale, and they did not resort to criminal activity. At the same time, with every generation, there is a tipping point.

For Barbadians who felt oppressed and the stifling social and economic conditions offered few prospects for them to fulfil their aspirations, they took to the streets in violent riots of the 1930s.

Arising from those clashes in which many Barbadians lost their lives and scores injured, a number of positives arose. The five-months’ long Moyne Commission (The West Indies Royal Commission) was activated in 1938 to report back on the social and economic conditions here and across the British Caribbean.

Importantly, the activism saw the formal establishment of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) in 1941, whose leaders over the years including stalwart the late Sir Frank Walcott, were key figures in far reaching social developments including the National Insurance Scheme.

Joining the BWU as Assistant General Secretary, he was a strident defender for workers’ rights, a fierce negotiator, and a visionary. With his election in 1948 to the top position of General Secretary,, he began his push for the passing of the Holidays with Pay Act. This allowed all workers the right to holiday.

Over the years, several pieces of meaningful legislation have been introduced to strengthen the rights of workers and their conditions of employment, especially those at the lowest rung who are likely to be exposed to greater levels of exploitation.

For nearly every worker, the pandemic period of 2021 and  2022 represented a monumental shift in how they are engaged by businesses. Permanency in employment for both public and private sectors has fundamentally changed.

The tourism and hospitality sector experienced the greatest shake-up as thousands were sent on the breadline, with too many feeling as though they had been discarded by a sector, they had devoted long hours in back-breaking work in order to create a comfortable environment for visitors to this country.

In the face of an unprecedented set of circumstances, government adjusted the severance payment legislation in order to ease the burden on hotels, many of which affirmed they were too financially stressed to support severance payments for their workers.

Taxpayers helped to share the burden that would allow hotel and other sector employers to get back on their feet, with much of that cost carried by the renamed National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS).

It is, therefore, shocking to the sensibilities of Barbadians to learn of the plight of  several former workers of a well-known West Coast hotel who have been forced to take their fight for severance payment to the public, in an effort to find a resolution.

The group of women who spent in some cases three decades cleaning the hotel’s rooms, expressed disappointment that after years of complaints to the Labour Department, representation by the BWU and pleas to their former employer, they are yet to receive compensation, they argue, they are rightfully entitled to.

The women, who have laid out what appears to be a solid case, have been far from complimentary of the representation they have received from the BWU and the Labour Department.

In  this editorial space, we have continuously warned that the tourism sector is destroying its reputation and cementing in the minds of workers and potential employees that this sector is exploitative, especially for the mass of workers who are expected to work long hours, routinely asked to accept just 30 minutes of lunch, and are likely to face layoffs during the “low period”.

These proud women, who clearly know their value, rejected what in the current high-cost environment could be described as ‘pittance’ to make a fundamental change in their employment contracts.

We are certain that there are many stellar employers in the tourism and hospitality sector, but we fear that the sector will continue to be challenged to attract the best talent if the perception continues to be reinforced that workers are a dispensable asset.