HRMAB: Barbadian workers should benefit from Bill

The Human Resource Management Association of Barbados (HRMAB) wants to see more Barbadians occupying high-level management positions as government advances its Economic Diversification and Growth Fund Bill.

HRMAB President Tisha Peters said the workforce ramifications of the legislation must not be overshadowed by broader economic and political debate.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Peters said while her association had not completed its review of the proposed law, she stressed the importance of equitable job distribution as major hotel and other investment projects unfold.

“We have not fully read the Bill, but what we do hope is that, as further details emerge and we get the opportunity to review it, as hotel projects come on stream from a workforce perspective, close attention will be paid to how employment opportunities are distributed,” she said.

Peters was careful to draw a clear line between the association’s remit and the wider political discourse, noting that her comments focus on the workforce component.

“We cannot comment on the political climate or the political aspects of the Bill, but we can comment on the workforce component, and that is where our primary interest lies,” she said.

Her remarks reflect ongoing concern that large projects often generate substantial employment for line staff but limited opportunities for Barbadians in higher‐level and specialised posts.

“The focus should really be on ensuring an equitable mix of local and expatriate talent across all job levels. If this is bringing jobs, that must be taken into consideration.

“That is important, because when businesses are brought in, we also want to see Barbadian managers stepping up into those roles. If they are not given the opportunity, then it cannot be considered an equitable distribution,” Peters maintained.

“Once we are looking at job creation, there must be diversity across those jobs, with an equitable mix for everybody, both line staff and management.”

The HRMAB response comes amid a growing public debate over the Bill, which was read for the first time in Parliament last week.

The legislation would establish the Economic Diversification and Growth Fund with an initial allocation of $225 million from the Consolidated Fund over three years to support qualifying companies that expand operations in Barbados.

Companies eligible to apply must demonstrate a real and substantial presence outside Barbados and plan significant activity domestically, including creating at least 100 jobs for Barbadians to be maintained for seven years, and compliance with tax obligations.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has contended that the Bill will also earn foreign exchange and foster economic growth.

A special committee comprising public officers and private sector representatives will evaluate applications and monitor compliance, with provisions for recovery of funds if terms are breached.

The Bill has faced criticism from social commentators including economist Jeremy Stephen, Professor Troy Lorde, Professor Don Marshall and former Senator and attorney-at-law Tricia Watson.

Watson has argued that the measure “risks creating inequities if the focus is skewed towards foreign investors without sufficient oversight on local workforce inclusion.”

Meanwhile, Professor Marshall of the University of the West Indies warned that the legislation “is not addressing the task for which the bill is so named,” noting that prior foreign investment has largely reinforced the commercial character of the economy rather than driving genuine diversification.

Mottley sought to address concerns about transparency in the legislation, pledging on Tuesday that regulations will require ministers to lay in Parliament any reasons for deviating from the recommendations of the advisory committee or the National Growth Council.

“I’m satisfied that we have strong and transparent guardrails, but the private sector has asked for one more, which can be accommodated in regulations, and that is simply one that speaks to if the minister deviates for whatever reason from the advice from the advisory committee and, in fact, the National Growth Council, that he can and must lay his reasons for deviation in the House of Parliament,” Mottley said, asserting that most decisions will align with committee advice.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb