A Publication of the Barbados Workers’ Union Where There Is No Vision The People Perish Vol.24 No.19 2015
NAVIGATING THE WAVES
Scenes from the 73rd Annual Delegates’ Conference.
Government Ministers, the Honourable Richard Sealy and Senator Patrick Todd join with the audience in applauding retiring B.W.U. General Secretary, Senator Sir Roy Trotman, following the delivery of his last Annual Delegates’ Conference address.
Senator Sir Roy Trotman (2nd from left) is pictured at the head table at his final Annual Delegates’ Conference as General Secretary. From (l-r) are: Comrades Krista Atherley, Assistant General Secretary, Administration, President General Linda Brooks, Toni Moore, General Secretary-elect, Doreen Deane, Principal, Labour College and Destry Jones, Deputy General Secretary-Financial Controller.
B.W.U. General Secretary, Comrade Toni Moore delivers her inaugural Annual Delegates’ Conference address on the second day of the 73rd Annual Delegates’ Conference
B.W.U. Executive Councillors pictured at the 73rd Annual Delegates’ Conference
Chaplain of the B.W.U. the Rt. Reverend Dr. Frank Marshall CBE, Brother Patrick Frost, former General Secretary of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union and General Secretary-elect Toni Moore are all smiles as they listen to outgoing General Secretary Sir Roy Trotman (out of picture) at the 73rd Annual Delegates’ Conference.
Comrade Mary Vaughan, Coordinator of the B.W.U.’s Netball Club, presents Sir Roy with a plaque, honouring his contribution to the Club over the years.
Contents Editor’s Note
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From the Desk of the General Secretary B.W.U. 74th Annual Delegates’ Conference
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Negotiations in a Tough Period
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Key Recommendations of UNAIDS and Lancet Commission
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Labour Celebrates its 75th Anniversary
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Three-Part Lecture Series at “Solidarity House”
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The Role of the Labour Department
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Campaign for Free Movement Gains Momentum
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Trade Unions and Productivity Education and Productivity Bargaining
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The Impact of NCDS on Health in Barbados
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Information concerning this Publication should be addressed to: Bro. Orlando Scott, Editor, The Unionist Barbados Workers Union, “Solidarity House”, Harmony Hall St. Michael, Barbados Tel: (246) 426-3492/5 • Fax: (246) 436-6496 Email: bwu@caribsurf.com • Website: www.bwu.bb.org
ON THE COVER B.W.U. General Secretary Comrade Toni Moore addresses her first May Day launch ceremony at B.W.U. headquarters, “Solidarity House’ B.W.U. General Secretary Toni Moore, waves to the crowd following the delivery of her maiden May Day address at Browne’s Beach, Michael on Saturday, May 1. B.W.U. General Secretary, Comrade Toni Moore kneels as she brings Christmas greetings to members of the B.W.U. Retirees at the B.W.U. Annual Christmas luncheon at “Solidarity House’. Selections Committee which reviewed the application of Cook Islands for admission to the ILO. Front (L-R): Cook Islands Employer Rep, Ms. Nathalie Rossette-Cazel, Chairperson of the Committee, Jodi Anderson, Cook Islands Director of Labour, Ms. Patricia Tuara Demmke, Toni Moore (Workers’ Rep). Back Row: other members of the selection committee and ILO Secretariat. Second from right is Cook Island Workers’ Representative Mr. Anthony Tuara. Followed by shop stewards representing the Customs Officers and Customs Guards, B.W.U. General Secretary, Comrade Toni Moore, makes her way to a meeting with Government officials at Government Headquarters to address issues regarding the transition of Customs employees to the Barbados Revenue Authority Placard-bearing trade union leaders lead the protest march on Monday, July 6. Sister Mary Redman, Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (extreme left), Brother Pedro Shepherd, Barbados Union of Teachers (2nd from l), Comrade Toni Moore, Barbados Workers’ Union (4th from l), Brother Akanni McDowall, 6th from l), Sister Rosalind Smith, NUPW and Brother Cedric Murrell, Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados.
Photos by Brooks / La Touche • Printed by Panagraphix Inc.
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EDITOR’S NOTE Orlando Scott, BSS, JP
Senior Assistant General Secretary, Barbados Workers’ Union NAVIGATING THE WAVES
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that “RESPECT” from the employer class was the B.W.U.’s major achievement.
hroughout the changing scenes in the life of the Barbados Workers’ Union the one The thirteen-week long Barbados Advocate strike of 1956, in which more than 200 workers were constant has been struggle. involved, was a severe test for the B.W.U. as it This continuous struggle has resulted from the fact was struggling not simply against the employer, but that the B.W.U. has been at the epicentre of the against the might of the political class of that period. social, economic and political transformation of It was the first time in Barbados that permanently Barbados, even before its formal registration on employed workers in such large numbers went October 4, 1941. History has recorded that its on strike for such a long period. . parent body, the Barbados Progressive League, from as early as 1939, had already organised several groups of workers and was actively engaged on their behalf. So that when the Trade Union Act came into force in 1940, bakers, printers, coopers, longshoremen, engineers, seamen, were ready to make a formal start. Fifth Anniversary In 1946 when the fledgling Barbados Workers’ Union (B.W.U.) marked its fifth anniversary, after several pitched battles with capital, among which were the testing strikes at the Central Foundry (1942) and the Barbados Foundry (1944), the B.W.U., backed by the solidarity of urban workers, the newly mobilised agricultural workers and the solid support by regional trade unions, became the undisputed champion of the island’s workforce. The B.W.U.’s courageous and successful campaigning on labour’s behalf led by the then President General Grantley Herbert Adams, (now Rt. Excellent Sir Grantley) to declare
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The decade of the 1960s was an eventful period for the B.W.U. and The Windfall Crisis of 1963 will rank as being among the most testing issue for the Union. The Union’s collective agreement with the Sugar Producers’ Federation became the subject of public comment by the politicians of the day – and the intense public debate reached alarming proportions. The crisis arose after the Union had negotiated additional increases in wages for sugar workers, following an agreement which was reached earlier in that year. The Union proposed that a portion of the increase should be paid into a special fund to be administered exclusively for the benefit of the sugar workers. The Sugar Producers agreed to the proposals. This was accepted by the Government and legislation was introduced into the House of Assembly to approve it. However, the Opposition vehemently resisted it and also spearheaded the founding of a rival trade union, the Barbados Progressive Union of Workers, which soon foundered.
The decade of the 1960s was also characterised by raging public debate regarding whether Barbados should seek Independence status, alone, or with the Little Eight. The Union, led by General Secretary Frank Walcott, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 1966, opted to support the then Government’s move to seek independence, alone. Both issues revealed the Union’s strong leadership position in the country, at the bargaining table and as a powerful, political voice in the community. The decade of the early 1970s was typified by disputes with the Commission Agents and Provision Merchants, the hotel industry and Messrs Clarke and Tucker which resulted in strikes and marches.
11% - increases which it was feared would result in higher costs in home construction and impact in employment in the building industry. That period was characterised by massive public protests, with the B.W.U. in the vanguard, against Government’s rigid austerity programmes. In each decade, the leadership of the Barbados Workers’ Union, each in his or her time, beginning with the Founding Fathers, Rt. Excellent, Sir Grantley Adams and Rt. Excellent Sir Hugh Springer (the first general secretary), through to the Rt. Excellent, Sir Frank Walcott (General Secretary from 1948 to 1991), Sir Roy Trotman (General Secretary from 1992 to 2014) to the incumbent, Toni Moore - has been forced to struggle against administrators in the Government and the Private Sector some of whom seemed intent on brushing aside the Law as well as the conventions which underpin the labour management system in the country..
The highlight of the decade of the 1980s was the strike which the Union imposed against the Barbados Telephone Company after the dismissal of David Giles, president of the Union division at that company. Giles’ dismissal was contrary to the established practice and procedures in the As the B.W.U. prepares for its 74th Annual agreement between the Union and the Company. Delegates’ Conference, which will commence at “Solidarity House” on Saturday, August 29, 2015, Fiftieth Anniversary and its 75th anniversary, which will be observed on October 4, 2016, it is doing so not merely against In 1991, the then General Secretary, Frank L. the backdrop of the persistent economic downturn Walcott (now Rt. Excellent Sir Frank), was at pains which has led to the adoption of tough austerity to stress that, even as the B.W.U. celebrated this measures in public sector and private sector layfiftieth anniversary, “we recognise that the road is offs, but against the arrogant approaches by some still rocky, and the path ahead slippery”. The B.W.U. employers in both sectors of the economy which was marking its Golden Anniversary against the have been aimed at circumventing the timebackground of the chilling news that the Barbados tested labour management practices which have Government had just concluded its first meeting significantly contributed to the soundness of the with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The nation’s industrial relations system and the social IMF had urged the Government to reduce its and economic stability of our society. wage bill by a whopping $40 million for the current financial year. Government was running a serious The current climate is aptly reflected in the deficit, together with a foreign reserves shortage Executive Council’s Report to the 74th Annual which has been caused, among other factors, Delegates’ Conference, which states, in part: “The by poor performance of the tradable sectors – Executive Council has found itself caught in a rip sugar, tourism and manufacturing. Government current which signals a ‘new’ phase of class struggle, had also announced a hike in interest rates and which seems intent on forcing back Barbados and already mortgage rates had moved from 10% to its citizens towards an approach which contradicts
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the social progress we have made and which derails the objectives of sustainable development which we seek.” The Report stressed that the Conference may wish to accept that there is merit in the challenge being put to revisit the extent to which the desired level of militancy is supported by solidarity and tangible commitment to the fight among our members.” We began this note by emphasising that the then leadership of the B.W.U., after a review of the existence of its first five years, cited “RESPECT” as its major accomplishment. Yet, seventy years later, the B.W.U. has been forced to decry the blatant disrespect which some employers, in both sectors of the economy, have shown regarding the traditional and important element of consultation – employer with Union –, the condescending tactics in relation to the discontinuance of negotiations; as well as the methods of carrying out restructuring
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at places of employment and retrenching workers even while negotiations are ongoing. As this note is being written, the Barbados Workers’ Union, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union, and the Barbados Union of Teachers have come out in full support of the National Union of Public Workers in its struggle with the Barbados Industrial Development Corporation (BIDC) following their forced retirement of workers. That BIDC’s action led to public protest and a march through the City of Bridgetown on Monday, July 3 when, for the first time since the 1991 protests, sister unions joined in solidarity in public protest. While the approaching days will present their own problems, it is clear that Labour will overcome when once workers live by the mantra, “Unity Is Strength: Where there is No Vision the People Perish”.
FROM THE DESK OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY Comrade Toni Moore
General Secretary, Barbados Workers’ Union “In rivers the water you touch is the last of what has industrial relations waters; some ripples, but as passed and the first of that which comes. So with ripples do, they died down quickly; some waves time present”. occasioned by the steadily blowing winds and Leonardo da Vinci some swells that threatened tsunami outcomes. However, in it and through it all, our values have his analogy flawlessly explains that the past, remained unchanged and our resolve more the future, and the present often converge unshaken. in a split second; in the single brush of a finger on moving water; the past pushes us, while We have navigated well in some areas, but the the future pulls us all while we remain in the B.W.U. has also seen where effort needs to be boosted pursuant to our mandate. We have been present. challenged that the mantra ‘strength in numbers’ and our first principle of ‘oneness’ are relevant On the night of 30th August, 2014, the very now, more than ever, as we continue to combat moment that the sheriff of the Barbados Workers’ the forces which seem intent on targeting the Union’s (B.W.U.) 73rd Annual Delegates’ very core of working-class development. This Conference announced to the Conference that I push back often comes from these forces in the was the newly elected General Secretary of the form of an admonition to the B.W.U. to adjust B.W.U., the paradox of this analogy was, in fact, its “archaic” stance to meet the demands of the playing out in the life of the Barbados Workers’ times. However as we prepare to navigate the Union; the convergence of the past, the present waves of another year, our membership must and the future in a single declaration for only the be encouraged to recognise the far-reaching fourth time in the history of this Union. implications of the threats and promises to increase the regulation of our industrial relations system, the In that moment, this organisation was bracing itself bold resistance to consultation by many agents of for new waves that would be breaking, confident government and employers in the Private Sector that, while their size, frequency and intensity could and the vicious notions from these said agents that not be predicted with any certainty, however workers’ contributions and voices must no longer the waves broke, we would demonstrate our be allowed to influence our development. readiness, buoyancy and the relevance of our time-tested values. The sad truth is, that those who are guilty of such threats have unwisely and audaciously let go of our history and, in so doing, have compromised During the past year, the winds of change have our rich inheritance. occasioned several observed movements in our
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Such an outlook and an approach challenge some of the very underpinnings of our democracy: namely, respect for diversity or differences in opinion; our citizenship and community-spiritedness; and our human rights which also include our trade union rights. These principles not only underpin our democracy but they allow for critical, mature and impactful debate to flourish. Together, let us stand firm because if there is no other lesson learnt from the sea, we know that ‘there is always another wave coming’. In the same way no wave is permanent, no particular challenge is permanent; yet notwithstanding these truths, the struggle continues.
Let us take instruction from the words of United States historian David C. McCullough given to the Wesleyan University’s graduating class of 1984: “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” We have easily seen how government and many private sector employers can be faulted for forgetting from whence they came, but let’s never lose sight of our cause; let’s never relax our commitment to the development of workers and the citizens of this fair land Barbados.
BARBADOS CO-OPERATIVE & CREDIT UNION LEAGUE LTD. The Barbados Co-operative & Credit Union League (“the League”) is the apex body for co-operatives. The League is committed to supporting and developing co-operatives and building the pro�ile of the movement. Services: o Advocacy (Legislation, Regulation) o Training o Mutual Bene�its Plan (MBP) Insurance Administration o Technical Assistance o Financial Services (through the Central Fund Facility Trust) 1st Floor, Co-operators General Insurance Building, Upper Collymore Rock, St. Michael Tel # 429-7075 Fax #: 436-5848 Website: www.barbadoscoopleague.org
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B.W.U.’S 74TH ANNUAL DELEGATES’ CONFERENCE
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enator Carol Lady Haynes, B.C.H., former Chairman of the National HIV/AIDS Commission, will deliver the feature address at the opening ceremony of the Barbados Workers’ Union’s 74th Annual Delegates’ Conference at “Solidarity House” on Saturday, August 29th, starting at 9:00 a.m. Some 479 delegates and 192 observers have been registered to attend the two-day conference which will be the first at which General Secretary Comrade Toni Moore will be officiating in that office. Comrade Moore, the first woman to hold the post of general secretary of the B.W.U., was elected at last year’s conference, following the retirement of her predecessor in office, Comrade Sir Roy Trotman, who spent two decades in the office of General Secretary. Comrade Linda Brooks has been returned, unopposed as President General. The delegates have also placed their confidence in the longstanding Treasurer, Comrade Washbrook Bayne, who, too, has been returned, unopposed. There will however be election for the three posts of Vice President. The two incumbents are Comrades Carol Boyce, president of the Barbados Water Authority Division and Shawn Knight, President of the Cable and Wireless Division. The four other persons who are vying for posts as Vice President are: Comrades Howard Griffith, president, Barbados Light and Power Division, Wesley Chase of the Sugar Workers’ Council, Geoffrey Mapp, President, UWI, Cave Hill Campus Division, and
Alphonzo Pollard, of the Hotel, restaurant and Catering Council. The Trustees are Comrades Hugh Arthur, Lemuel Daniel and Ethrill Chrichlow. Twenty-three members, representing a widecross section of economic activity, are contesting the eighteen seats on the Executive Council. They are Mark Armstrong, Madeleine Blenman, Carol Boyce, Wesley Chase, Caleb Clarke, Henry Codrington, Heather Coward-Downes, Jeffrey Grant, Howard Griffith, Janice Griffith, Milton Griffith, Carlton Hope, Neville Kirton, Shawn Knight, Kim Lascelles, Glendine Lewis, Geoffrey Mapp, Jefferson Nicholls, Alphonzo Pollard, Desmond Roach, Winston Roach, Dale Williams and Dexter Young. Three Resolutions Three Resolutions, including the theme Resolution, “Navigating the Waves”, are slated for discussion. The two other resolutions which will be tabled at the Conference are – “Social Protection of Security Officers”, and “A Commitment to Prevent and Control Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). It also expected that delegates to the Conference will speak on resolutions which relate to issues contained in the Executive Council’s Report to the Conference. The theme Resolution, “Navigating the Waves” reads:
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WHEREAS history will show that this Union has Barbados; to publish the results of that enquiry, had to confront waves of all kinds during the and to use the said findings as a basis for legislating course of its existence; and a body of basic labour standards to bring security workers in line with the fundamental rights at WHEREAS with every wave, whether predictable work which all workers in Barbados should enjoy or errant, this institution resistance, resilience and in common. resolve have withstood these threatening forces, time and again; and The Resolution on “A Commitment to Prevent and Control NCDs”, reads in part, MINDFUL that a new wave of globalistion has occasioned unprecedented shifts in the approaches (a) appreciating that non-communicable diseases of Capital and even Government which calls for a are occurring in epidemic proportions in all re-examination if not a more careful examination of countries of the Caribbean and are major causes of how the workers’ movement tackles the breaking premature death, suffering, disability and excessive social, economic and political threats; financial burden; RECALLING that the visible and active support of our membership has remained the bedrock of our strength and capacity to skillfully navigate unchartered waters;
(b) realising that certain common risks factors, namely physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, increase the risks of NCDs and that reduction of these factors, early detection of disease and provision of effective and BE IT RESOLVED that this 74TH Annual Delegates’ affordable treatment, are required to prevent and Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union, control NCDs; meeting at “Solidarity House’, on Saturday, 29th August, 2015, recommits to an even stronger (c) acknowledging that NCDs are a threat to the participation among its membership in the struggle economies of the Caribbean and that through for respect, fair treatment, peace and justice; and premature loss of the productive work force and burgeoning healthcare costs, NCDs can cause a BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that the Conference gives decline or reversal of the region’s developmental its support to those measures which the incoming and economic gains Executive Council will in principle have to pursue in defence of our struggle; and (d) believing that “a whole of government and a whole of civil society,” response is needed to BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members address the NCD risk factors and that this can commit to educating fellow members about the only occur through engagement and effective important issues at stake and the significance collaboration between all sectors of society; of their support in defending this institution rich tradition and ideologies as we navigate the waves. (d) calls on the Government of Barbados, the business community and civil society, as a whole, to The Resolution on “Social Protection for Security ensure that health and safety in the workplace and Officers calls on the Government of Barbados to wellness of employees are given the paramountcy launch an enquiry into the conditions under which of attention which is required, using whatever security guards and officers are made to work in means of communication which may be deemed expedient and beneficial.
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NEGOTIATIONS IN A TOUGH PERIOD
CUSTOMS IMPASSE MAJOR CHALLENGE
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In the meantime, the B.W.U.’s Industrial Relations team is conducting negotiations on behalf of the Union’s membership at some 37 companies which range in size from the West Indies Biscuit Company Limited, the Hotel and Catering Group, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Insurance Corporation of Barbados, Purity Bakeries Limited and the C.O. Williams Group of Companies to smaller groups such as Capita Financial, Barbados Yacht Club and the B.W.U. Co-op Credit Union Limited.
And the B.W.U. is insisting that where the employer is the Government and that employer has failed, or is unwilling to confirm the status of a body of workers, it would be unwholesome and improper for those workers to leave that employment relationship unsettled and to proceed to engage with another employer (a statutory board) where that employment relationship is equally unclear.
he Barbados Workers’ Union settled collective agreements with seventeen companies, among which were Banks (Barbados) Breweries Limited, B&B Distribution Limited and HIPAC Limited, against the backdrop of the persistent economic downturn, during the period under review.
The period under review was symbolised by a series of lay-offs and terminations in both the Public Sector and the Private Sector and this pattern has been of major concern to the Union. Among the companies from which workers were laid off, based on restructuring operations, were the Barbados Light and Power Company Limited, Capita Financial, Cable and Wireless and the Insurance Corporation of Barbados. The cause for the lay-offs at Williams Industries was attributed to a decline in business. MICO Garments, which laid off some thirty persons, listed economic causes as the reason for the lay-offs. Facey Trading Limited, which closed its operations, laid off some 45 workers.
he impasse between the Barbados Workers’ Union and the Government of Barbados in relation to the transfer of Customs Guards and Customs Officers from the Customs and Excise Department to the Barbados Revenue Authority has been described by the B.W.U. as being among its major challenges during the past year.
According to the B.W.U., for many years, even before there was any thought of restructuring the revenue collecting agencies of Government, it had been seeking to address a number of critical issues relating to workers at Her Majesty’s Customs. In the case of Customs Guards, the B.W.U. stated the matters related to appointments, promotions and deployment; the latter to ensure that persons did not find themselves working under hazardous or inhumane conditions. The B.W.U. acknowledged that talks were always pleasant but officials in the various ministries, over the last eight years, did not engage the speed or professionalism which was required to deal in a caring manner, with the interests of the Guards, or, indeed, with the interest of the Officers who were making comparable claims through a sister organisation.
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The B.W.U. states that with the Government’s declared intention of transferring Guards and Officers into the newly created Barbados Revenue Authority, it is insisting that while it is happy to support any new initiatives to improve the quality of the delivery of Customs duties, it considers it necessary that before the B.W.U. can agree with any transfer, the critical issues which are on the table at the level of the Chief Personnel Officer and the permanent Secretary, Ministery of Finance, should be discussed and resolved. The B.W.U. stressed that the Ministries concerned and the Ministry of the Civil Service have met with the Union but have been unable or unwilling to resolve those outstanding issues; but at the same time the Government has been trying to expedite its transfer timetable and to have the workers transition into the new revenue authority even if that transition did not meet the full requirements in the Employment Rights Act.
B.W.U./B.H.T.A.’S NEGOTIATIONS STRAINED
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andy Lane Hotel’s default in paying the 3% wage adjustment for the period 2009 to 2012 has caused a strain in the pay negotiations between the Barbados Workers’ Union (B.W.U.) and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (B.H.T.A).
According to the Report, Sandy Lane argued that its inability to pay the agreed 3% increased related to the need to retain its market share. But the B.W.U. has rejected those claims, arguing that the rates paid by Sandy Lane were not as a consequence of discussions between the Union or the BHTA and that, as it related to other costs and competitiveness, these were the issues all other hotels, which had paid the agreed increased, faced. In addition, the B.W.U. noted that the categories of workers who were disadvantaged by the lack of the increase, to date, had fallen below the comparators by the same 3%. The B.H.T.A. informed the Union that it had consulted with Sandy Lane and the hotel was not prepared to pay a retroactive increase from 2010, but was willing to adjust the salaries of employees who had fallen below the agreed rate of pay. “Hold Strain” The negotiations to renew the collective agreement between the B.W.U. and the B.H.T.A. for the period 15 December 2014 to 14 December 2016 started in March 2015. However, proposals for the period 15 December 2012 to 14 December 2014 were used to form the basis of negotiations as the Union had committed to “hold strain” on proposals for that period until the B.H.T.A. was in a position to respond favourably.
According to the Report, the proposals resubmitted by the Union included increases in allowances, service charge amendments, pensions and medicals, occupancy rates as it related to lay-offs or short time, shifts, job descriptions, occupational health and safety, room quotas, health vaccinations, job security and amendments The Report of the B.W.U.’s Executive Council to to the collective agreement. the forthcoming 74th B.W.U. Annual Delegates’ Conference, which will commence at “Solidarity The Report further stated that the major concern House’ on Saturday, 29 August, states that which arose was the lack of a wage increase since “negotiations could not continue (between the 2010, when workers received a 3% increase for two parties) until that hotel had addressed the the period 2009-2012. The Union indicated that anomaly”. this was not a position that could be sustained
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going forward as the length of time since the last increase was too burdensome on workers. The Union posited that workers had exhibited restraint and steadfastness throughout the difficult period and noted that since there was a positive outlook for the industry; workers should be able to share in its recovery.
NEGOTIATING WITH G4S
According to the B.W.U., the company seems to be responding to currents which seek to roll back the benefits which have been negotiates and fought for the Union. During the past year, the B.W.U. has been compelled to write to the Chief Labour Officer and to bring it to the attention of the public that the management of G4S has been varying the terms of the collective agreement by recruiting persons as stewards, whilst having them perform the job function of security officers.
During the current round of negotiations the Company has proposed to the Union a desire to reduce the current wages of Security Officer, so he Barbados Workers’ Union anticipates that the Company can remain competitive. This that it may have to navigate through a proposal has been rejected by the BWU with a tsunami with G4S Security Services during counter-offer proposed of a moratorium for the life of the agreement which the Company has out the coming months. rightly rejected. Negotiations are currently at a standstill.
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KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF UNAIDS & LANCET COMMISSION
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et serious about HIV prevention – including combination prevention – and continue the expansion of access to treatment, while also working to address structural determinants of health that put people at risk.
favorable trajectory. Now there is a new opportunity: to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Yet only a massive and rapid expansion of a comprehensive AIDS response between now and 2020 can achieve this highly ambitious goal.
This is among the key recommendations of the Report Among the other key recommendations are the of the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission Findings and following: Recommendations, under the theme “Defeating AIDS Advancing Global Health”, launched by His Excellency • Forge new paths to uphold human rights and address criminalisation, stigma and discrimination the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki using practical approaches to change laws, policies Moon, in a ceremony at the Hilton Barbados, during and public attitudes that violate human rights; the staging of the CARICOM Summit, on Friday, July 3, 2015. • Urgently ramp up and fully fund AIDS efforts efficiently, and emphasise sustainability; the next The publication of the report is the result of two five (5) years present a window of opportunity years of dedicated work by commissioners with to scale up the AIDS response to end AIDS as a diverse expertise in HIV, health, and development, public health problem by 2030; failing to do so, including young people, people living with HIV and and to continue the already significant efforts, will affected communities, activists and political leaders. increase the number of deaths and new HIV; The commissioners were asked how to transform the AIDS response to make the vision of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat a reality, and to look • Demand robust accountability, transparency and better data; this relies on fresh processes at how lessons from the AIDs response could inform and mechanisms to enable more transparent a new era of sustainable development beyond 2015. data review, improve research on highrisk populations, and link data to polices and According to UNAIDS, after more than a decade of programmes; major achievements, the AIDS response is at a crucial juncture, both in terms of its immediate trajectory and its sustainability, as well as its place in the new • Reinforce and renew the leadership and engagement of people living with HIV, global health and development agendas. New HIV strengthening and expanding their decisioninfections have fallen by 38% since 2001 to 2.1 making roles in policy design, implementation million, and deaths have been reduced by 35% since and evaluation, and invest in activism as a global 2005 to 1.7 million. Continued scientific discovery and public good; activism, along with resource mobilisation, political commitment, and implementation has created this 12 | The Unionist
for understanding the many global health and environmental health challenges before us. While the world has (and will always face new health) challenges, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is unique in the international response it galvanised – it was, according to the Commission, “an unprecedented response to and unprecedented health threat”. Since the first reported cases of AIDS in the early 1980s, about 78 million people have become infected with HIV and • Promote more inclusive, coherent, and 39 million people have died of AIDs-related causes. accountable AIDS and health governance; Before the era of antiretroviral treatment (ART), establish a multi-stakeholder, multi-sector HIV/AIDS brought devastation to communities and unprecedented personal and national challenges. platform to address determinants of health. Many of the key developments in global health were • Why a commission on AIDS and global health, partly or wholly created or defined in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including ART, the Global Fund and why now? o Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United To go forward in this era of sustainable development, States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. lessons from the AIDS response are important Community involvement and activism, among others. • Invest in research and innovation in all facets of the AIDS response; an effective vaccine and a cure remain priorities, and others include epidemiological studies of high-risk populations and hot spots, socio-behavioural research, implementation research, and country-specific research on how services are delivered across health care; and
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Dr. David Browne, (r) who presented at the first in the three-part lecture series at Solidarity House to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Labour Department is pictured with the discussants (l-r) Professor Woodville Marshall and Dr. Henderson Carter (see Page 19).
LABOUR CELEBRATES ITS ANNIVERSARY by Orlando Scott
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75TH system in the country, first with the establishment of
he two-year span, beginning January, 2015, and ending December 31, 2016, will be a commemorative period for Labour in Barbados. It is a time during which Barbadians will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stones for the modern industrial relations 14 | The Unionist
the Labour Department in 1940, followed by the registration of the Barbados Workers’ Union, on October 4, 1941. The coming months should be set aside for serious introspection by all of us who are involved in labour management relations. It should also be a time when all workers should take time out to reflect on the origin
of this historic journey towards the democratisation of the workplace, starting with the sterling but sacrificial efforts of heroes like Samuel Jackman Prescod, Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal, moving through to the era of Clement Payne, Grantley Adams, Hugh Springer and Frank Walcott to the modern times. We therefore should not simply regard this period as just a memorial, that is, dealing with history for history’s sake; rather we should seize the opportunity to give meaning to the efforts of all of those bold men and women who sacrificed much in their battles against the rigid colonial system which imprisoned the body and mind of the labouring class.
social and political history of the Caribbean. This view was also shared by Dr. Mark, who described the disturbances as the beginning of the modern period of West Indian development. But, according to Dr. Mark, the 1937 disturbances in Barbados was “an unusual and isolated incident in the history of the island, but which formed a part, however, of a general pattern of unrest which characterised the British West Indian territories in the 1930s.
For us to fully grasp the social, political and economic conditions that incited the agitation in Barbados (and the wider British West Indies) and to be able to paint a canvas of the Barbados which the Royal West India The setting up of the Labour Department and the Commission visited and which led to reform, beginning registration of the Barbados Workers’ Union were with the establishment of the Labour Department and among the major recommendations of the Royal the Barbados Workers’ Union, it would be useful for West India Commission, also known as The Moyne us to examine Sir Arthur Lewis’ thoughts of the social, Commission, which was dispatched to the British political and economic life of Barbados of that period. West Indies to investigate the social and economic Sir Arthur, writing in “Labour in the West Indies”, conditions of the British colonies. The inquiries were summed up Barbados in this way: “Barbados is a tiny carried out between November, 1938 and March, island, with a population of over 1 000 per square 1939 - following the disturbances in the region which mile depending for its existence on plantations almost spanned the period 1934 to 1939. These revolts began entirely in European hands. Its Government is one of with the sugar workers’ strike in Trinidad; followed by the most reactionary in the West Indies, and though, an oil workers’ strike and hungry march in Trinidad; in recent years, a number of middle class leaders have a wharf labourers’ strike in Jamaica; a sugar workers’ appeared, until 1937 they had made little impression strike in St. Kitts and British Guiana and St. Vincent; on either the Government or the masses.” another oil workers’ strike and general disturbances in Trinidad, a sugar workers’ strike in St. Vincent, the A further assessment of the conditions in the wider July disturbances in Barbados, a sugar workers’ and British West Indies showed that wages, housing, health dockers strike in Jamaica, along with general disorder; and education were at the base levels, and in regard and the disturbances at Leonora in British Guiana in to social legislation, there was “practically no legislation February of 1939. concerning housing or working conditions and no unemployment or health insurance.” Dr. Francis Mark PhD, in his “History of the Barbados Workers’ Union”, described the general strikes and W. A. Macmillan, writing in his “Warning from the workers’ insurrections as the spontaneous expression West Indies” in 1936, stated that discontent has of working class discontent, a feature of almost all of the serious grounds in the unsound basis of West Indian territories at this time, and which sparked the genesis society, and Dr. Marks contended that economic of the modern period of West Indian development. Sir distress, increasing unemployment, atrocious living Arthur Lewis, writing in “Labour in The West Indies – and working conditions – these were the basic causes The Birth of a Workers’ Movement”, noted that these of West Indian discontent in the 1930s. social upheavals, felt in all the islands, during the general capitalist crisis of the 1930s, affected the subsequent
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The British Government should not have been taken by surprise by the cataclysmic occurrences in the British West Indies since there were a number of influential organisations in Britain, such as the Fabian Society as well as progressive thinkers among whom were Lord Olivier and Arthur Creech-Jones who were sounding warnings in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, respectively, about the dismal conditions in this region. Speaking in the House of Lords in 1938, Lord Olivier noted that it was an unfortunate circumstance that West Indian affairs and the affairs of certain other parts of the (British) Empire got very little attention in Britain unless the Press of London could find some sort of sensational headline in order to call attention to them. Riots and oil companies he considered a great draw. He argued that the House and the country generally ought to have paid much more attention long ago to the general situation in the West Indies which gave rise to the occasional riots. He judged that “the labour troubles” which had occurred in British Guiana, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad, St. Kitts and Jamaica, all arose from the same cause – namely that the British public did not pay sufficient for their sugar to enable the West Indian industry to pay decent wages to the workers.
“There is no pretence at democratic government, or governing the islands in the interest of the masses. Councils and legislatures are packed with representatives of capital, and elected members who (if) they attempt to be even liberal in their attitude to the working classes get well snubbed for their pains…. “Every workers movement …comes up against the wall of opposition by the plantocracy. To them the level of exports and the level of profits are still the only indicators of social welfare, and they use this control over the machinery of Government. Poor Wages
The pamphlet highlighted the abysmally poor wages paid to the labouring class, and, in giving a comparison between the territories, it stated that only the Leeward and Windward Islands, paid lower wages than Barbados. It also compared the cost of consumer goods with the wages which the West Indian labourer was being paid and thereby touched on one of the reasons for poor quality of life in the territories. It noted that while it was true that the cost of food and housing was relatively low in the West Indies, low rates of wages paid remain Backward Conditions significant of a low standard of living. The West Indian depends on imported foods: hats, wheaten bread, The New Fabian Research Bureau, which did clothing, shoes and manufactured items. Wages must considerable work on the social and economic be used for the purchase of European goods sold at conditions in the British West Indies, in a pamphlet, prices fixed in Europe in accordance with European released in mid-1935, portrayed the glaring and wages. appalling backward conditions in the West Indies, and sought to expose the barbaric tendencies of the ruling Arthur Creech-Jones, in his roles as Parliamentarian, classes. A few extracts from the pamphlet illustrates trade unionist and a member of the Fabian Society, the point: had established a line of communication with the various progressive voices in the Region. In this regard, “The whites are the aristocracy; they dominate correspondence passed between him and Lord Olivier everything – agriculture, commerce, industry, particularly on questions relating to the West Indies, government, religion and society….the coloured but especially Jamaica, at times urging Creech Jones races do grumble at the colour bar and lack of to pressure Malcolm Macdonald, the then Secretary wealth which resolve them to a second place in of State for the Colonies, following the disturbances society, but on the whole relations between the and imprisonments in Jamaica. Additionally, a series races are constant… of exchanges were made between Creech Jones and some of the emerging leaders in the colonies
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following the disturbances: Grantley Adams of Barbados and Norman Manley of Jamaica, both of whom had attended Oxford University and had been Fabian Socialists. In time Arthur Creech Jones’ tenacity and passion to bring a semblance of humanity in the Colonies soon established him as a central figure in London around whom the spirit of freedom spun.
Arthur Creech Jones also played an important part in the definition of the British Labour Party’s Colonial Policy, undertaken during the war years, drawing up plans for implementation immediately the war should end. He assumed the office as Secretary of State for the Colonies in October 1946. Lord Olivier, who was among the first people to be interviewed by the Royal West India Commission Creech Jones had become, without doubt, the pivotal before it sailed to the West Indies, recounted in the figure in colonial matters. Letters were written to him House of Lords that some forty years ago, in 1898, by people from every colony in the British Empire Mr. Chamberlain had sent a Commission to the seeking to have their special problems ventilated in the West Indies to investigate the conditions of the sugar House of Commons; or seeking his advice on matters industry and in the 1920s the British Government of trade union or political nature. sent a two-man commission to the West Indies. The latter commission, comprising Lord Olivier and David In November, 1937, five months after the Disturbances Semple reported on the conditions in every colony. in Barbados, Grantley Adams, who, by that time, He reported that universally, the conditions of the was emerging as the central figure in the struggle for working classes were deplorable and that wages went reforms in the island, had recognised Creech Jones’ down to 1shilling 3 pence a day and 1 shilling 6 pence efforts in the West Indies’s cause. While in England, a day and that housing was most wretched. Adams, in one of his letters to Creech Jones had offered information on the problems in Barbados and Lord Olivier referred to the fact that Archbishops sought Creech Jones’ help in arranging a meeting for in the West Indies had been unwearyingly in their him with the British Labour Party Group endeavours to improve the conditions of labour. An example was that Archbishop Hudson of Antigua who Adams’ Letters was constantly writing and speaking in an effort to improve conditions. Adams’ letters to Creech Jones bore testimony to the Jones’ role as intercessor and advocate on behalf of That part of the report of Lord Olivier and David the Colonial people. It read: Semple in which they described the social conditions in the British West Indies, included a statement that “I shall not only be glad but shall be greatly the infant death-rate in Barbados was 380 per 1 000 indebted to you – and I know hundreds of others under one year-old. Lord Olivier told the Lords that it in Barbados as well – for anything you can do was better now because charitable people in Barbados for us to bring before the House and the British had set up infant clinics, and the people were feeding public the plight of the vast majority of the their children a little more sensibly than before. people living in their oldest colonies. At times I shall be willing and ready to give whatever Lord Olivier might have been excessive in his language information I can about Barbados and the rest regarding the poor standard of nutrition on the island of the West Indies and where I do not personally when he told the Lords: “…the women used to go know anything you may enquire about, I shall do to work and leave their children locked up at home my best to get accurate information from my with a mall piece of cornmeal pulp tied up in their friends in the other islands.” mouths: they would come back in the evening and do what they could to feed them properly”. He said that
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Barbados and all those places are riddled with infantile • The establishment of statutory wages boards in paralysis and the death rate is enormous. That is simply each territory; and of an industrial court for the a poverty disease which can be improved”. whole area. Lord Olivier and David Semple had recommended that if the Imperial Government had assisted the sugar • The formation of Whitley Councils for civil trade to survive by giving Imperial preference, or if the services, and an extension of this principle to Imperial Government gave them financial assistance, subordinate staff and to teachers as an example to as they have, by free loans, and enabled the industry other employers by Governments. There were to improve their capital equipment, then his Majesty’s other items relating to labour welfare provisions, Government should take care that the farmers and factory legislation, Workmen’s compensation, labourers should get some part in the benefit; but that and the appointment of Labour Advisers. had not been done. As we all know, by now, the Labour Department was set up in 1940 and the island’s first Labour Officer The foregoing attests not merely to the strong support arrived in the island in the middle of January. The other which the nascent labour movement in the British significant move towards the laying of the foundation of West Indies received from the British Trade Union the modern Labour Management system in Barbados Congress and organisations such as the Fabian Society was marked by the passing of the Trade Union Act in but the terrible state of affairs in the British colonies December 1939, its coming into force in 1940 and of the West Indies manifested by the harsh living and the registration of the Barbados on October 4, 1941. working conditions under which the labouring classes were born, lived and died. Deane Commission Apart from the local commissions such as The Deane Commission in Barbados, the main result of these disturbances was the investigation of labour conditions in the area by the labour advisers to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Major St. J. Orde-Browne, and the more comprehensive enquiries of the Royal West India Commission. Among the recommendations of the Commissioners on Labour and Trade Unions were: • The establishment of Labour Departments, and their assistance in regulating wages and conditions of employment in the formative period of trade unionism; to assist them Advisory Boards of employers and workers’ representatives with impartial chairmen • Legal protection for unions against actions in tort, provisions for peaceful picketing with access to workers both at home and at their place of work, compulsory registration of union and audit of their funds 18 | The Unionist
THREE-PART LECTURE SERIES AT “SOLIDARITY HOUSE”
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he first in the three-part series of symposia, organised by the Labour Department, in association with the Barbados Workers’ Union (B.W.U.), to mark the 75th anniversary of the Labour Department, was held at “Solidarity House” on the evening of Thursday, April 23rd, 2015. The symposium got underway with the welcome by Orlando Scott, Senior Assistant General, B.W.U. and an address by Labour Minister, Dr. the Honourable Esther Byer.
radical Scottish trade unionist and Labour MP, founded the Democratic League in 1924, the Workingmen’s Association in 1926 as well as other associate societies, mainly the Loan and Friendly Society, and a cooperative supply association.
Dr. O’Neal represented the City of Bridgetown in the House of Assembly from 1932 until 1936, the time of his death. Born on November 30, 1879, Dr. O’Neal, who was educated at Harrison College and Edinburgh University where he came under the influence of the
Dr. O’Neal’s Democratic League changed the face of Barbadian politics, among other things, by printing Manifestoes in The Weekly Herald and bringing the plight of the poor into national discourse. Additionally, through the Workingmen’s Association, he raised the
While noting that Dr. O’Neal’s contribution to the political development of Barbados cannot be denied, Dr. Browne stressed that one must admit that the political awakening of the Barbadian masses during the early 20th century was a complex phenomenon The main presentation, entitled “Charles Duncan in which many others contributed to the effort, for O’Neal and Clement Payne in Advancing the Cause example the role of Grantley Adams as a dynamic public of Labour in Early Twentieth Century Barbados”, speaker, charismatic leader and trade unionist in the was made by Dr. David V.C. Browne, Principal of political life of the colony during the early 20th century Queen’s College, and the discussants were Professor cannot be ignored. Dr. Browne also mentioned the Sir Woodville Marshall and Dr. Henderson Carter, a names of others who made their contribution such as lecturer in History at the University of the West Indies, Wynter Crawford’s Barbados Observer, a newspaper, which he claimed appeared to fill the void, vacated by Cave Hill. the demise of The Barbados Herald, edited by Clennel Cause for Justice Wickham. Among these groups, Dr. Browne included Dr. Browne’s paper examined the struggle of Dr. the extreme radical opinion which, at times alarmed O’Neal and Clement Payne, two of Barbados’ National authorities, such as Gordon Belle and his occasional Heroes and their contribution to Labour. Dr. Browne publication, The Forum Club; Reggie and Marcus described Dr. O’Neal and Clement Payne as “pioneers Wilson, political activists like S. Arlington Newton, Fitz in political and social activism in early 20th Century Herbert King and working class activists such as Moses Barbados, who shook the citadels of plantocratic Small, Melvin Atwell, Edwin Turpin, James Gardner, power and colonial activism.” He underscored the Willie Bradshaw, Israel Lovell, Anna Hooper and fact the drastic situation of the workers on the island Alexandrina Gibbs. became a major plank of their cause for justice. Dr. Browne asserted that between 1924 and 1936,
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consciousness of the workers in Bridgetown and set up his platform throughout the island. According to Dr. Browne “apart from Samuel Jackman Prescod in the mid-19th Century, no one had approached local politics in this way”.
people who gave testimony. It was his view that the Report of the Commission attributed the “disturbances” to the deportation of Payne, and his speeches, which were of a ‘decidedly inflammatory nature designed to create bitterness among the labouring classes towards their employers. The report suggested further that In 1932, Dr. O’Neal joined members of the Payne’s meetings were attended largely by the young Democratic League in the House of Assembly where and irresponsible elements of the City, mostly from he had an uphill battle in his attempt to bring about the congested areas of Golden Square and Suttle change in the plight of the masses He raised concerns Street who were gullible enough to be excited by his about poor sanitation, education, hot meals for school vapid speeches. The Commission also arrived at the children and the franchise. From around 1933 his long-held belief of many conservative elements that health was on the decline and he died unexpectedly the rebellion of 1937 was fomented by an outsider, in October 1936. a trouble maker, who aroused the passions of an illiterate, easily excited population, which meant, that Barbados in Turmoil the black working classes, in essence, were unable to Turning to Clement Payne, Dr. Browne said that in take political action and protests on their own and can March, 1937, Payne appeared on the political scene in only respond to agitation. Barbados and by July, 1937 Barbados was “in turmoil”. According to Dr. Browne, Payne, like his associates, Payne wrote: Israel Lovell, Ulric Grant, Mortimer Skeete, Darnley “The aristocrats and middle class people of Barbados Alleyne and Fitzgerald Chase, saw the necessity for need no organisation. It’s only you, the poor labourers trade union activity and he and his cohorts created who, if you get hurt on the job, get nothing, and that quite a stir in Barbados by causing the political is why you should have Old Age Pension, Workmen’s awareness of the local population. Dr. Browne added Compensation, and Compulsory Education.” that Payne’s emphasis on worker organisation cannot be overlooked as he seemed to have drawn inspiration In the Abstract to his paper, Dr. Browne noted that the from the way others had organised themselves in the black working classes of early 20th Century Barbados region. What is more, Dr. Browne revealed that Lovell, had inherited harsh living and working conditions Grant, Chase, Alleyne and Skeete also revealed some from the 19th Century – conditions that included ideas about the nature of the campaign and the issues dilapidated housing, both in the urban and rural discussed at the time and spoke on various times about space, poor sanitation, malnutrition and the occasional the lack of justice for the poor, and the appalling state outbreak. In relation to health, his view was that the of poverty in Barbados. He stated that they described mass of people existed on such poor diets that certain the Police as stooges of the capitalists, viewed the metabolic diseases such as pellagra were widespread middle classes as lacking the vigour to address issues and Barbados had one of the highest mortality rates in of the working classes, called for the abolition of child the West Indies. Regarding education, he stated that labour and the passing of Workmen’s Compensation, illiteracy was wide spread; few children were educated condemned Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, and, most beyond a basic primary school education and hundred stridently, called on the workers to be organised. of them worked on estates in labour gangs. In addition According to Dr. Browne, the local Deane Commission, to the foregoing, there was no compulsory education like the Governor Sir Mark Young, perceived Payne and most children paid fees to attend school. as nothing more than an agitator, in short, a trouble maker. Dr. Browne felt that the Deane Commission’s conclusion was, perhaps, influenced by some of the 20 | The Unionist
According to Dr. Browne, it is not unreasonable to state that the conditions of the master-slave relationships
presentation sought to examine the complex nature of the attempt to bring about change in Barbados by focusing on the role of Dr.O’Neale and Clement Payne, two National Heroes, who contributed much to advancing the cause of Labour. He argued that Dr. O’Neal, from around 1914, had organised a political party, the Democratic League, and the Workingmen’s Association to challenge the status quo; and along with his good friend, Clennel Wickham, writing in the Barbados Weekly Herald, they championed the cause of the poor working classes. They sought better working and living conditions for the masses but such Dr. Browne, in summary, stated that the rebellion a stance in an environment dominated by conservative of July 1937 took the local authorities by surprise white elite was bound to lead to conflict. So that at the despite the fact that the Ceylon Plan of 1915 had death of Dr. O’Neal in November, 1936, even though been put in place in case of such an eventuality. It was the Barbados Political Association had emerged, there his view that the rebellion in Barbados, and those seemed to be a vacuum in the Labour struggle that throughout the region had signaled to the ruling Clement Payne had filled in March 1937. classes that things had to change and he said that his which existed during chattel slavery, continued as a master servant arrangement in the period after 1838 (emancipation), for another hundred years (the period of the disturbances). In listing the challenges which the masses faced, Dr. Browne stated that life was tough for the working classes and few people championed their cause. Trade unions were illegal, political activism was frowned upon by the Colonial authorities, the majority of the population could not vote because of the high franchise qualification, and the mass-based parties that emerged in the 1940s, did not exist.
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THE ROLE OF THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT
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he Labour Department, established on 1 September, 1943 by the Labour Department Act, Chapter 23 of the Laws of Barbados, is headed by the Chief Labour Officer and is currently located at the Warrens Office Complex. The Labour Department, the technical arm of the Ministry of Labour, has responsibilities for three broad areas, namely: (i) Industrial Relations (ii) Occupational Safety and Health; and (iii) Employment Services The Chief Labour Officer has a statutory duty: (a) to receive and investigate all representations whether of employers or of employees or of employees, made to him concerning any business, trade, occupation, or employment with a view to the settlement of disputes and grievances and to conciliation especially regarding hours and conditions of work and regulation of wages and to report thereon to the Minister; (b) to advise the Government with regard to the betterment of industrial relations and generally on all labour matters; and (c) to ensure the due enforcement of the Acts specified in the schedule and of any Acts which he may from time to time be required to enforce.
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Labour inspections duties are performed by officers of the Labour Department in order to satisfy the dictates of the Labour Department Act. These inspections are: (a) to ensure that the laws in force concerning conditions of employment and the protection of employees in their occupations are fully applied; (b) give technical information and advice whenever necessary to employers and employees as to the most effective means of complying with the said laws; and (c) indicate in their inspection reports of difficulties or abuses not specifically covered by existing laws. Industrial Relations Section The Industrial Relations Section is actively engaged in monitoring labour management relations in the Island. Some of the legislation which it administers in this regard includes: - Chapter 344 The Domestic Employees Act -1961 - Chapter 345A The Employment of Women (Maternity Leave) Act - 1976 - Chapter 346 The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act - 1977 - Chapter 348 The Holidays with Pay Act - 1952 - Chapter 349 The Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Act - 1952 - Chapter 351 The Protection of Wages Act - 1951
- Chapter 352 The Public Holidays Act - 1968 - Chapter 356A The Shops Act -1985 - The Employment Rights Act Proclaimed 15 April - 2013 Complaints
at its offices to discuss the areas of disagreement. Unlike a court of law, we cannot issue a summons to the parties. Recognition Surveys
At times the Department is requested to determine the level of union membership at an organization Individual workers can visit the Department on any in which the union is seeking to be the accredited given work-day, and, without appointment, discuss representative of the workers employed there. When their concerns/complaints with Labour Officers. These such a request is made of the Department, a survey workers are mainly non-unionised. of the Union’s records is conducted by officers of the Department. Complaints are usually about the manner of dismissals, conditions of employment, lay-offs, suspensions and Prosecutions non-payment of holiday pay. The Chief Labour Officer’s power to prosecute is mainly applied for breaches of the Holidays with Shop Inspections Pay Act where employers fail to pay holiday due to Labour Officers are required to carry out shop workers. inspections under the Shops Act. These officers seek to ensure that employers adhere to the provisions of The Industrial Relations Section is also involved in the Shops Act including paying to shop assistants no responding to work-related telephone enquiries, les than what is stipulated as the statutory minimum collecting statistical information on work stoppages remuneration payable to shop assistants. The current and on wage rates. Officers also conduct seminars and rates of $6.25 per hour, $50.00 per day and $250.00 present lectures on labour legislation to employees’ and employers’ organisations and their institutions. per week were effective from 5 April, 2012. This section is also responsible for responding to Conciliation questionnaires and queries from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on ILO Conventions and Senior management and labour officers are involved other labour standards. in the conciliation of disputes that are referred to the Department by either employees’ representatives Employment Rights Act or employers or their representatives. As part of the dispute resolution process either party is free to The Employment Rights Act proclaimed on 15 refer matters of the Labour Department when issues April 2013 seeks to institutioalised good workplace remain unsolved after discussions at domestic or practices. Some of these include: enterprise level. Disputes are usually over the renewal the provision of a statement of employment of collective agreements, dismissals and wages and • particulars; other conditions of employment including trade union recognition. • the provision of an itemized pay statement; In our voluntaristic industrial relations system, the consultation before lay-off of employees; and Department would invite the disputing parties to meet •
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•
the provision of a certificate giving particulars of employment when the employment has ended by dismissal.
They are used as resource persons at many seminar/ workshops. National Employment Bureau
In addition the Act sets out clearly under what circumstances the employer has the right to terminate the employment of an employee and the process to be followed in such circumstances. A novel aspect of industrial relations in Barbados is introduced in the Act, namely an Employment Rights Tribunal with powers to award compensation, order reinstatement or re-engagement to any unfairly dismissed employee.
The National Employment Bureau (NEB) is involved in providing employment services free of charge to the local community as mandated from 1955 by the Employment Exchanges Act, Chapter 345 of the Laws of Barbados. Officers visit employers to promote services of the NEB and to encourage them to place any vacancies they may have with the NEB to fill for them.
Counselling and guidance services are provided by The uncertainty over the determination of a contract Officer of the NEB. These officers also visit schools of service and a contract for service should no longer to speak to students about preparation for the world exist since the Act provides legislative provision for of work. They also explain the expectations of the such a determination. employer, what I involved in preparing for interviews, job search techniques, among other matters. Officers Occupational Safety and Health also visit groups, clubs, and organizations and speak with employees and the unemployed about the topics The Safety and Health Section is charged with the listed above as well as the services offered by the NEB. responsibility of administering: Retraining Fund • Chapter 356 The Safety and Health at Work (SHAW) Act – proclaimed on 1 January, 2013. A retraining Fund has been established for persons who This replaces the Factories Act; have been permanently laid off or made redundant. These persons with the assistance of the employment • Chapter 338 – The Accidents and Occupational counseling officers at the National Employment Bureau Diseases (Notification) Act – 1952 choose areas of training/retraining in order to prepare them, for re-entry into the world of work. • Chapter 353 – The Quarries Act – 1963 There are eight training providers including the Samuel The Safety and Health Officers traditionally inspected Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, the Barbados Vocational factories but now with the proclamation of the SHaW Training Board, the Barbados Institute of Management Act, they inspect other workplaces as well as monitor and Productivity (BIMAP) and the University of the safety and health compliance at workplaces. They also West Indies Open Campus. The unemployed persons investigate workplace accidents. are paid a stipend for attending training. The officers of the Safety and Health Section also make advisory visits to employers as well as conduct seminars and present lectures on safety and health issues to employees’ and employers’ organisations.
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The funds for this programme are disbursed through the National Insurance Scheme.
Overseas Programmes
General
Barbados has a Liaison Office in Ontario, Canada and Miami, Florida, USA. These offices assist in sourcing employment opportunities for Barbadians. The National Employment Bureau has been administering the Canadian Farm Labour Programme (CFLP) since 1967. This government-to-government seasonal programme allows workers from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to work for no longer than eight months, per year.
The Labour Department is required to maintain a register of workers, employed at sugar plantations and sugar factories, and qualified to be registered under Chapter 359, The Sugar Workers (Minimum Wages and Guaranteed Employment) Act.
Workers in the Programme are involved in the planting and harvesting of fruit, vegetables and apples. Some of the workers travel to Canada from as early as February/March to work on green house operations. In addition to the traditional provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia, Barbadians have been provided with work, within recent years, in the Western Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Temporary Foreign Workers’ Programme Barbados has been sending workers to Canada on this programme to work mainly in the hospitality area and some of the workers have secured two-year contracts. Cruise Ships Workers on this programme normally travel to Miami to connect with cruise ships from the Norwegian Cruise Line. Revenue Earning Activities
The Labour Department also provides secretarial services to the Shops wages Council established under the Wages Councils Act, Chapter 362 and the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). International Labour Organisation Standards In 1998 the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted the IULO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights art Work and its follow-up. The Declaration places an obligation on all Member States to respect “in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles concerning the Fundamental Rights which are subject to these conventions”. In accordance with this mandate, Barbados has already ratified all of these Core Conventions, namely: No. 29 No. 87
Forced Labour Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise No. 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining No. 100 Equal Remuneration No. 105 Abolition of Forced Labour No. 138 Minimum Wage No. 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour
The Department has a responsibility under Chapter 373, the Profession, Trade and Business Registration Act, to license categories of self-employed persons. The foregoing article was submitted by the Labour Department. The Department also collects money for quarry licences and for accident investigation reports. A copy of an accident can be requested from the Department on payment of a fee.
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THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT – Its Emergence, Its Function, Its Goal
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arl Marx, in a letter to his father, penned these words in 1837: “If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people”. This epitomises the work of the early stalwarts in the labour movement. It was a fight for better relationships, better working conditions and ultimately a better way of life for all. The struggles of the early movement can be now seen in the working conditions and benefits many Barbadians enjoy today. This, however, does not indicate that the journey is over, but it indicates that with much effort and dedication much can be achieved. The period of the 1930s in Caribbean history was characterised by a wave of protests, strikes and disturbances. This wave of activity
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signaled to Britain the need for assistance in creating an atmosphere that was conducive to productivity on the various plantations across the Caribbean. The British Government stated that “the (West India) Royal Commission’s visit to the islands would have a good psychological effect in these colonies”. Today, the Labour Department, coupled with the activities of trade unions, provide the same effect for employees across Barbados. Out of the Royal West India Commission of 1938 came the emergence of the Labour Department in 1940 and the registration of the Barbados Workers’ Union in 1941. Emanating from the continuous struggles after the 1930s were some fundamental elements in industrial relations. These include: • • • •
The right to freedom of association Freedom to bargain collectively Processes of trade union recognition; and Freedom to engage in peaceful pocketing.
promote mutual respect and workplace safety and health. The Labour Department is headed by the Chief Labour Officer whose functions are to receive and investigate all representations made to him/her with a view to settle grievances by way of conciliation or mediation. Some may beg to reason that the Labour Department is almost like a toothless animal in that its only course of action is to defer matters to the recently legislated Employment Rights Tribunal or the Minister of Labour. However, the maintenance of harmony is more than providing punishments and granting requests but the ability to understand the issues and bring both parties to a mutual agreement; this is the strength of the Labour Department. This article was submitted by the Barbados Employers’ Confederation.
Over the years the Labour Department, under the Ministry of Labour, has continued to grow in strength with the legal backing commended to it by various pieces of legislation. Citizens have grown to appreciate and value the authority of the Department whose mandate is the ensuring of a cohesive industrial relations system on the island. The main function of the Labour Department is to provide conciliation services and assist in the resolution of grievances and disputes when the primary and secondary parties fail to reach an agreement at domestic level. Further, the Labour Department Act, Cap 23 broadened the mandate to encapsulate the enforcement of labour legislation and monitoring of occupational safety and health standards. Respect and workplace safety were two of the very important subjects emerging from the Commission’s Report therefore, it was only fitting that the creation of the Labour Department would facilitate fair employment,
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CAMPAIGN FOR FREE MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM by Wilma Clement
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hings are looking brighter for domestic workers and artisans who are desirous of broadening their work horizons. This is as a result of the latest phase of advocacy by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, (CPDC) and its supporting agencies located in the countries of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis. Over the last couple of years the Barbados Workers’ Union (B.W.U.) has lent support to the CPDC’s project Making CSME Work for Artisans and Domestics. This campaign has been advocating for CARICOM Heads of Government to follow through on their commitment to grant these workers the right to move within the CSME, under the Free Movement of Skilled Nationals Regime of 2006 and 2010, to find employment and/or to set up businesses. Regrettably, domestic workers and artisans have not been able to take advantage of this right in many of the CSME countries. Therefore the B.W.U. has been working assiduously to mobilise these workers, particularly domestic workers, and to bring them into its fold so that it can better represent their interests. Though in the midst of preparations for its 74th Annual Delegates’ Conference, the B.W.U. has found the time to ramp up its support for the CPDC activities which will begin during the month of July. According to Wilma Clement, the union officer who works directly with the CPDC on this campaign, several innovative initiatives have been developed with a view to empowering the
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domestic worker and the artisan so that they may be able to move and work in the CSME. Activities include as many as 10,000 informational text blasts on the LIME Network along with the distribution of literature at popular locations around the island which will also provide opportunities for face to face interactions with domestic workers and artisans. Additionally, several Mobile Billboards have been strategically placed around the island, beginning at Union Headquarters, Solidarity House. Each billboard will remain on location for a period of one week before being moved to another location. Areas such as Thornbury Hill, Wildey, Spooners Hill, Trents, Oistins and Black Rock, have been identified as ideal spots for the mobile billboards. The B.W.U. is also looking forward to the broadcast of a short video on national television which will share the Union’s perspective on domestic work and the value of domestic workers in Barbados. Most certainly 2015 will be a landmark year for the BWU, not only because it is expected to sail fervently into its 75th year, but also because after all the years, the union remains true to its Rules and Regulations, particularly Object (i) To secure the complete organisation in the Union of all workers employed in all the trades, industries and occupations in this island. If all goes well, we should be welcoming domestic workers into the union, again.
TRADE UNIONS & PRODUCTIVITY EDUCATION & PRODUCTIVITY BARGAINING by John Pilgrim
”If you think education is expensive, wait till you see what ignorance costs you.” Anon
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be teamwork, good work ethics, positive workers’ attitudes and a productivity consciousness and culture.
These gurus have been arguing that management he National Productivity Council of Barbados, at the level of the company and government alone a tripartite institution, was established just over cannot be held responsible for this task, since it may twenty (20) years ago be seen as just another ploy to push workers harder.
The partnership relationship that exists within the Council has been one which seeks to promote and develop a productivity culture in Barbados, as well as to encourage a similar practice in fellow CARICOM member states.
Dr Joseph Prokopenko, a retired International Labour Organisation (ILO) consultant on productivity-related management issues has pointed out that the unions’ role in productivity improvement at the national level can be summarised as follows:
Several years ago an article was published depicting the role and contribution of the Barbados Workers’ Union (B.W.U.) Labour College to workers’ education, and their vision and efforts to ensure certification from BIMAP for many of the courses conducted at the college, promote life-long learning and the ongoing development of various competencies. After reading that article, and another one a year later by the then General Secretary of B.W.U., Sir Roy Trotman, which signalled that “all sectors in Barbados must improve their act”, I decided that the process should go a step further by examining the role that our local trade unions have been playing in the productivity improvement process through the design and delivery of productivity education for their immediate constituents - the workers.
• • • • • •
To ensure that a specific productivity movement does not compromise the interests of workers. To increase the productivity consciousness of workers and to educate them in productivity concepts and techniques. To see that performance standards and measurements are fair and achievable by workers. To see that a fair productivity gainsharing scheme is properly worked out and applied. To help build an organisational climate characterised by mutual understanding and cooperation. To develop the trade unions’ own expertise in the productivity movement.
He concludes that in order to implement these tasks Management gurus have conceded that in order effectively trade unions need to build their own to participate effectively in productivity education strength, financially and organisationally, and to be programmes, unions must recognise that if real labour unified nationally. productivity is to be realised in the business, there must The Unionist
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Now, getting back to the key issue of the unions’ contribution to productivity education task, research undertaken on the number of persons attending productivity courses conducted over a ten-year period under the auspices of the B.W.U. has revealed the following statistics as reflected in Table I and II below.
The figures show that that there has been an increase in both spheres and this is not only encouraging, but is congruent with the BWU philosophy to promote workers’ productivity education.
TABLE I
No. of Sessions Conducted TABLE 2
No. of Persons who Attended the Seminar
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It augurs well and lends support to the national productivity promotional programme, as well as the ongoing efforts of The Productivity Council towards indelibly imprinting on the minds of management and workers the benefits and importance of productivity in a rapidly increasing competitive environment. The B.W.U. should be congratulated for its determined and sustained efforts towards ensuring that workers
in Barbados are exposed to and educated on the elements and ingredients that enhance productivity at both the individual and organisational level. The Barbados Tourism Authority has the motto “Tourism is our business, let’s play our part.” How about this: “Improved people productivity in our social partnership is our purpose, let’s play our part.” This article was prepared by the Productivity Council.
B.W.U. Industrial Relations Officer, Comrade Juliet Pollard (2nd from right) at the signing of the B.W.U./DHL collective agreement, at DHL headquarters, Fairy Valley, Christ Church. Seated (from l-r) are Maria Seales, Human Resources, DHL, Brittany Brathwaite, Industrial Relations Officer, BEC and Hetty Williams, BWU shop steward. Standing are – Nikkolai Cowan, Manager, DHL, Denise St. Marie-Millar, and Elvis Waithe, staff.
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he Barbados Workers’ Union Cooperative Credit Union Limited will hold its Annual Scholarship Awards Presentation Ceremony at “Solidarity House” on Friday September 4, 2015, at which it will be awarding thirty-two young men
and women for their academic achievements. The awards will be in the name of Icilma Johnson (CXC), LeVere Richards (CAPE), the late Winfield Belle and Casper Roett.
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THE IMPACT OF NCDs ON HEALTH IN BARBADOS
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he Barbados Workers’ Union intends to redouble its efforts in the coming months in the fight against non-communicable diseases, by working more closely with the NCD Commission in Barbados and other stakeholders. The Executive Council has proposed a resolution on NCDs for discussion at the forthcoming 74th Annual Delegates’ Conference which is calling on the Government of Barbados and the business community and civil society as a whole to ensure that health and safety in the workplace and wellness of employees are given the paramountcy of attention which is required using whatever means of communication which may be deemed expedient and beneficial. In Barbados eight of the top ten causes of death are from NCDs and around 15% of all deaths from NCDs in Barbados are premature, i.e. they occur in those under 70 years. One in four Barbadian adults has at least one chronic disease and this is expected to increase to one in three by 2025. Excluding maternal and child health visits, 80% of visits to the eight Ministry of Health polyclinics are for NCDs. NCDs now threaten Barbados’ socio-economic development. In Barbados, hypertension and diabetes care and treatment contribute to 5% of the GDP. Expenditure on health care Barbados indicates: (1) diabetes (direct $69,810,744, indirect $5,791,532 and total $75,602,320) and (11) hypertension (direct $101,666,320, indirect $43,645,734 and total $145,312,054).
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THE UNIONIST congratulates Najee Bishop who represented Barbados in the Under Fifteen (15) Cricket Tournament in Guyana recently. Since the year 2012, Najee has been representing the B.W.U. Invitational XI May Day cricket match against the B.C.A. He has been named Man-of-the-Match on two occasions.
“ When in the slippery paths of youth with heedless steps I ran, thine arm unseen conveyed me safe, and led me up to man.” Hymn 243 vs 3 -
When All Thy Mercies CPWI Hymnal
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