‘Gig workers’ need stronger pay protections – Slocombe

Senator Jamal Slocombe has called for stronger protections for workers in the growing gig economy, arguing that both private employers and government agencies have engaged in unfair labour practices that leave workers struggling to make ends meet.

Delayed wages and missing National Insurance contributions are leaving many gig workers unable to meet basic living costs, he said, prompting his call for tighter enforcement and broader protections under the Protection of Wages Bill, now before the Senate.

The independent lawmaker backed the bill, which he said was fundamentally about safeguarding vulnerable employees from exploitation.

He said: “Protection is about ensuring that unfair treatment is not meted out to Barbadians who cannot help themselves or who find themselves in positions that they cannot easily stand up to employers. Essentially we put a mechanism in place that prevents employers from doing the unjust thing.”

He pointed to what he described as common abuses in the private sector, including employers delaying wages because of cash flow problems.

“I know in many instances where employers…decide that one morning they’re a little short of money, cash flow is a problem, so they will give the employee half the pay now and the next half a couple of weeks later.”

He also raised concerns about employers failing to make National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) contributions despite deducting them from workers’ salaries, leaving employees without benefits when they need them most.

“I know of instances where people go off on sick leave, maternity leave, and when they go to NIS, their contributions are not there to even get any form of compensation. We have a serious issue in this country with the way how employers treat labour.”

But the government must also examine its own practices, particularly regarding short-term contract workers, he suggested.

“Too often, government is found to be culprits of similar actions,” Senator Slocombe said, clarifying that he was referring to the public service rather than the political administration. “Those gig workers, persons who are [on] short-term contracts, find themselves also waiting months for monies owed to them.”

According to him, delayed payments create severe financial hardship for workers trying to meet their everyday obligations.

“I want to encourage at this time, government to also take serious introspection to its processes, its policies, its approach to how it even treats gig workers,” he said. “I think this legislation stimulates a discussion that needs to go beyond what is just presented here in the bill.”

The issue was particularly evident in the cultural field, where creatives and performers often wait weeks or even months to be paid after providing their services, said the entertainer-lawmaker.

“We see the same challenge in the private sector, especially in the hotel sector,” he said. “Gig workers may sing or play an instrument on a Tuesday night, and two weeks, three weeks later, they’re still not being able to receive their payments.”

While some may dismiss the issue as minor, he argued that late wages have real consequences for families.

“When people cannot go and pay the light bill, when they cannot afford to put food on their table, when they have a challenge being able to provide for their children, there is a problem,” Senator Slocombe said. “Something is rotten.”

(SB)