Unions decry cancelled meetings, call for stronger government consultation

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) has chided the government for failing to consult with the tripartite body that includes the trade union umbrella.

During CTUSAB’s monthly press conference at its Garrison headquarters, general secretary Dennis De Peiza highlighted the meeting record of the full Social Partnership in 2025.

He said: “In 2025, there were only two meetings of the full Social Partnership convened under the chairmanship of the Honourable Prime Minister. A two-part meeting on 20th and 23rd June addressed the subject of crime reduction strategy. The next meeting, held on 18th August, addressed plans for the implementation of BERT III. As for subcommittee meetings convened under the chairmanship of the Minister of Labour, Social Security, and the Third Sector, there was only one meeting held in 2025 on 11th April.”

De Peiza said all other scheduled meetings were either postponed or cancelled, with at least four additional meetings not held. He reminded that Protocol 6 of the tripartite agreement between business, government and labour requires quarterly full meetings and monthly subcommittee meetings.

He continued: “This congress is dissatisfied that it continues to be sidelined by some stakeholders who refuse to respond to requests for meetings and dialogues. This includes the Ministry of Education Transformation, the Ministry of Training and Tertiary Education, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, and the Prime Minister’s Office.”

The CTUSAB general secretary expressed concern over what he described as government attempts to seat individual unions instead of the umbrella body at Social Partnership meetings.

He also objected to the proposed expansion of the tripartite structure to include a social justice committee, citing Article 12(2) of Protocol 6, which mandates consultation before inviting additional parties.

“It reads: ‘After consultation with the other social partners, the social partners may invite persons or institutions to participate in any meeting if that partner deems it desirable to do so in the interest of advancing the objectives of the protocol…’ It says ‘after consultation,’ it does not allow for a unilateral approach.”

CTUSAB also demanded that the government nominate a labour representative to serve on state boards.

“The congress continues to demand that the government nominate one representative to serve as a member on each state board. It is questionable why past administrations have continued to exclude CTUSAB from strategic boards, namely the National Insurance, Social Security Service, the Minimum Wages Board, Barbados Water Authority, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.”

On national governance, De Peiza argued that the Constitution of Barbados provides for sectoral representation in the Senate and that labour should not be excluded.

He said: “CTUSAB contends there is room for the inclusion of a Labour representative, nominated by the umbrella body, to serve in the Senate of Barbados. Inasmuch as the Constitution provides for sectors to be represented in the Senate, there is no logical reason why CTUSAB, as a representative of workers, and the Barbados Private Sector Association, as the representative of employers, should not each be invited by the President to nominate an independent senator.”