A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e B a r b a d o s Wo r k e r s ’ U n i o nW h e r e T h e r e I s N o V i s i o n T h e P e o p l e P e r i s hVol.18 No.13 2012

See Page 4 & 9

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Information concerning this Publication should be addressed to:Bro. Orlando Scott Editor, The UnionistBarbados Workers’ Union, “Solidarity House”, Harmony Hall,St. Michael, Barbados

Tel: (246) 426-3492/5 • Fax: (246) 436-6496Email:bwu@caribsurf.com • Website:www.bwu.bb.org

Photos by Brooks / La Touche Printed by Panagraphix Inc.

Editor’s Notebook 1From the Desk of the General Secretary 3The BWU’s 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference 5Commemoration of the 1937 Disturbances 92012 Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ Week 15Negotiations Environment Difficult 16BWU Will Not Be Silenced 13Merely Intellectually Connected 19May Day 2012 In Pictures 20National HIV/AIDS Commission 22Leave the Sugar Lands Alone 23A True Volunteer Aging Actively 24BWU Good Host 25Mervyn says “Thank you” 26ILC - A Defining Moment for Labour 28The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service 30A Theology of Work 32Europe: Stress in the workplace 35

A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e B a r b a d o s Wo r k e r s ’ U n i o nW h e r e T h e r e I s N o V i s i o n T h e P e o p l e P e r i s hVol.18 No.13 2012

12942 The Unionist 2012 inside cover.pdf 8/24/2012 10:15:41 AM

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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOKOrlando Scott, BSS, JPSenior Assistant General Secretary,Barbados Workers’ Union

Each year, as we in the Barbados Workers’ Union prepare for our annual delegates’ conference, I am minded to reflect on how our Founding Fathers approached the First Annual Delegates’ Conference which was held at the original BWU headquarters on Fairchild Street, on March 3, 1942. I do so because members of this generation of workers, by and large, seem often to take for granted the quality of life we enjoy, behaving as if our present situation is the way life has always been.

It is far easier, today, for trade unionists to walk into a convention hall, with their prepared conference documents and deliberate on the issues that confront Labour without having to look over their shoulders; but it was not at all easy for the delegates to the First Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union. To put that period in perspective, we must remember that our Founding Fathers were starting the Union in a charged environment. At the global level, World War 11 was in full swing and democracy was being severely threatened by the Axis Powers, as Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces and their Fascists cohorts were sweeping across Europe and North Africa, while the Japanese were over-running the South Pacific.

At the local level, the leaders of the progressive forces were struggling against a powerful, entrenched and unyielding planter-elite combination, who, for three centuries, had exercised full and complete control over every facet of Barbadian life, and whose iron grip had eased, only a wee bit, as a consequence of the following happenings: (a) the dramatic

upheavals of July 26, 1937; (b) the presence in 1938 of the official Commissions of Inquiry - the Royal Commission and the Deane Commission - into the disturbances of 1937; (c) the passing of the Trade Union Act in 1939; (d) its coming force in 1940; and (e) the establishment and functioning of the Barbados Workers’ Union on October 1941.

The passing of the Trade Union Act, the registration of the Union and the establishment of the Department of Labour, had given Barbadian workers a foretaste of freedom since, for the first time in the history of the country, workers now had available to them, institutions operating under the Law, which gave them the legal right to start the process of organising and bargaining collectively, and to which they could appeal, in the event that they were aggrieved at work. Barbadian workers began this journey to industrial freedom in full view of the failed attempts by Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal (now a National Hero) at building the Workingmen’s Association and the Democratic League in the 1920s.

So, for the then President General, Grantley Herbert Adams, General Secretary, Hugh Worrell Springer (now National Heroes) and Treasurer Hilton Coulston, who were the three officers of the Union, it was an uphill struggle to build a solid foundation for the Movement which, today, is recognised as the bulwark of freedom for the workers of Barbados.

We can only guess that there may have been some anxieties among the leaders and the led,

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regarding the growth of the Union, based on our understanding of the exploitive history of that period. There is certainly no known record by way of interviews, letters or otherwise that reveals how Adams, Springer and their colleagues felt about the ambitious move that they had begun. The Minutes of the First Annual Delegates’ Conference is no more enlightening in this regard. The delegates to that conference seemed more concerned about local issues, such as the growth of some of the pioneer union divisions whose start was made in the latter half of the 1930s under the guidance of the Progressive League, the umbrella body of the Barbados Labour Party and the Barbados Workers’ Union. These divisions included the bakers, printers, coopers, longshoremen, engineers and seamen. In addition, there was no mention made in the Minutes about the War that was raging in Europe, North Africa and the South Pacific and which had led to a shortage of necessities and some abridged freedoms. Delegates seemed more concerned about bolstering worker unity and the growth of the nascent Organisation.

CHALLENGES

Each age has its peculiar challenges. The Founding Fathers had theirs, as we can see; and we have ours. Unlike the Founding Fathers who were struggling in 1942 to build a trade union body against the backdrop of a world war and oppression by the ruling classes, this current generation of workers are living at a time when the Barbados Workers’ Union is widely respected for the role it has been playing over the past 70 years in the social and economic advance of the island.

Since 1991 we have been able to build and institutionalise a model Tripartite Social Partnership whose work, based on the close monitoring of the Barbados Workers’ Union, has resulted in immeasurable benefits to the island, and which is being replicated by other countries. In spite of the efforts of the Social Partnership, the Executive Council’s Report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference has shown that the Union

has had, during the past year, to deal with too many instances of attempts by some employers to undermine the collective bargaining process and by-pass the signed Protocols.

In addition to the above, the 500-odd delegates and 180 observers who have registered for the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, scheduled for Saturday, August 25 and Saturday, September 1, will meet against the backdrop of one of the worst economic periods in the history of the modern world. The recession has resulted in millions of people being placed on the bread line. Additionally, there has been the unwelcome news from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) that food prices will spike in the foreseeable future because of the drought in the mid-Western USA, where wheat, barley and other food staples are cultivated. In addition, the floods in Brazil which have resulted in the rise in the price of sugar and unstable weather in Russia which will conspire to drive up food prices. These happenings are bound to have serious negative effects on small open economies like Barbados.

It is not known whether the Rt. Excellent Sir Grantley Adams, the Rt. Excellent Sir Hugh Springer or the other Founding Fathers of the Barbados Workers’ Union, who met on March 8th, 1942 at the First Annual Delegates’ Conference, had anticipated that this Organisation would have developed as this shining symbol of hope for the workers of Barbados. What we do know is that their confidence, their sacrificial work and their commitment to the cause of Labour have borne an abundance of fruit. We, the beneficiaries of their dreams and toil, must ensure that when we meet for our annual delegates’ conference, we must be prepared to commit ourselves to making sure that the programmes that we endeavour to put in place will redound to the benefit of the present and future generations of Barbadians.

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From The GeneralSecretary’s Desk

“Unless we aim at achieving the best that might be possible, we will be in danger of having to make do with the least that is tolerable in the short run.” Madam Aung San Kyi

“NOT MERELY CONNECTED, but UNITED”, the theme of the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), underscores the BWU’s appeal to fellow trade unions, to civil society, to employers and to the political parties to be NOT MERELY CONNECTED but to be UNITED – particularly in these violent, nerve-wracking days confronting most countries throughout the world.

We have done well in some areas; the BWU believes that we could have done better in some and that we may have had better results. But we are grateful that many of the calls, which Labour has made for sensitive, humane and even sacrificial approaches, have met with positive responses, starting with the Government, going to the Private Sector and involving ourselves as members of civil society.

We in the BWU have sought to govern our efforts by the wise and timely advice which we have gained as priceless in these times. We are, for example, struck by pearls of sound advice coming from Madam Aung San Kyi, long imprisoned political leader of Burma.

Two months ago, in June, this year, she said to the International Labour Conference (ILC):“Unless we aim at achieving the best that might be possible, we will be in danger of having to make do with the least that is tolerable in the short run. In the long run, as powers of tolerance run out, unrest and instability will erode the progress that has already been gained”.

The Barbados Workers’ Union is aware of the danger in not being fully conscious of the demands of the times or of the evils and treachery of those would deny us

our Freedom. We will endeavour at this conference and into the foreseeable future to encourage desirable trade union values of STRENGTH, UNITY and SOLIDARITY.

Our Theme Resolution is a challenge first of all to ourselves and then to all others to revisit our trade union “first principles” and not to be side-tracked by personal likes or dislikes, or by the allurement of well-placed distractions, put in our path by those who do not support our cause.

In the view of the outgoing Executive Council of the Barbados Workers’ Union, there have been many things which have given occasion for our Union’s disappointment. We are satisfied however that nothing in the opposition we have attracted can properly be attributed to any steps we have taken, we are fully aware that, quite to the contrary, those who opposed our statements have themselves been exposed for their unreasoned and unreasonable positions.

There is after all no cause like the pursuit of justice. In the sentiments of our theme, we should REDOUBLE our efforts to be good disciples in the cause for social partnership within a just society.

“Do not defraud your neighbour or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight”…..Leviticus 19:13

Lamentations 3: 22—23: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.”

by Sir Roy Trotman, KA

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TRADE UNIONS RESPONSIBLE CARETAKER The trade union movement must be the responsible caretaker, stressing job retention and ensuring that what work is available is of a quality that is “Decent” and allows one at least a living wage. This is the view of the General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Comrade Senator Sir Roy Trotman, who has stated that the point must be made that, in a small country like Barbados where persons who lose their jobs cannot, like those in large countries, pack their belongings and relocate to a state where the prospects are better, the trade union movement “must be the responsible caretaker…”

Sir Roy emphasised that the trade union’s efforts “are limited” in that the Union neither sets nor control prices. He observed that during the past year, there were several publicly-made complaints about inflation, which reached 9.4% in December 2011, and he added that, with oil prices increasing by an average 36%, more money was spent on oil despite Barbados buying a smaller quantity, underscoring the need for an effective policy thrust into alternative energy solutions.

According to Sir Roy, some high commodity prices were also brought about by “abuses of dominance”, according to the Fair Trading Commission, which, after conducting investigations in the construction, telecommunications, automotive, food distribution and oil manufacturing industries, discovered instances of discriminatory pricing.

Sir Roy said that the Barbados Workers’ Union supports the efforts of the Fair Trading Commission to prevent these anti-competitive, unfair practices and urges the Commission to move speedily to address other such issues as they arise.

Writing against the backdrop of the Union’s preparations for the two-day 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, beginning on Saturday, August 25, Sir Roy stated that in the year under review, the Union has had the fortune of being able to examine its own policy advice to the Barbados community against the stances and protestations of other interests groups especially as this has had to do with the steering of the national economy.

Descendants and relatives of Isreal Lovell and Olric Grant, two disciples of National Hero, Rt. Excellent Clement Payne, are pictured with Officers of the BWU in Golden Square, at the commencement of the march to mark the 75th anniversary of the July 26, 1937 Disturbances. From (l-r) are: Comrade Washbrook Bayne (BWU Treasurer), Adrian Lovell, N.A.S.H. Lovell, Sir Roy Trotman, Clyde Chase, BWU President General Linda Brooks and Jeffrey Grant.

Front Cover

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THE BWU’S 71ST ANNUAL DELEGATES’

CONFERENCEThe global economic recession and its impact on the Barbadian economy will be a key debating point at the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union which is scheduled for “Solidarity House” on Saturday, August 25 and Saturday, September 1, 2012.

The Executive Council’s Report to the Conference highlights the wide range of issues which Labour has had to face up to during the past year. They include the negative impacts of globalisation on trade between the North Atlantic and the Developing World, the role of the Barbados Social Partnership, labour legislation, trade union unity, workers’ rights, mergers, closures and layoffs, and collective bargaining.

Apart from the anticipated lively discussions by delegates which will flow from the Report, the Conference will also debate prepared resolutions on topics germane to the current times, such as ‘Workers’ Rights Protection’, ‘Committed to Unity’ and ‘Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The Chief Justice the Honourable Marston Gibson will deliver the feature address at the opening ceremony. Some 567 delegates and 182 observers have registered to attend this conference, which will be also attended by Parliamentarians, Business leaders and the Diplomatic Corps.

The BWU President General Comrade Linda Brooks and Treasurer, Comrade Washbrook Bayne have been nominated unopposed. There will also be no contest for the post of Vice President as the three sitting members: Comrades Byron Jackman, Neville Kirton and Carol Boyce have been nominated without opposition.

Comrades Hugh Arthur, Lemuel Daniel and Alwyn Tull have been nominated for the posts of Trustees.

Thirty-two persons have been nominated to contest the 18 seats on the Executive Council. They are – Comrades Edwin Adams, Victor Alleyne, Madeleine Blenman, Frederick Bovell, Marcia Chandler-Thompson, Wesley Chase, Caleb Clarke, Henry Codrington, Heather Coward-Downes, Aston Gold, Jeffrey Grant, Howard Griffith, Milton Griffith, Carlton Hope, Allison Howell, Serphine Howell, Shawn Knight, Kirk Marville, Gregory Maughn, Denise Morgan, Kim Moseley, Doreen Mottley, Cedric Nelson, Jefferson Nicholls, Jacqueline Phillips, Alphonzo Pollard, Gerard Prescod, Desmond Roach, Winston Roach, Harrietta Simpson-Greene, Fiona Thompson and Leon Whittaker.

PROCLAIM THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT

The Barbados Workers’ Union wants Government to proclaim the Employment Rights Act on or before October 4, 2012.

This call is contained in a resolution on “Workers’ Rights Protection” which will be debated at the Barbados Workers’ Union’s 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference.

The Resolution reads: “Whereas the Government has at last passed the Employment Rights Act of Barbados (2012) intended, among other things, to protect the rights of workers in the country; and

Whereas the individual rights will only be truly meaningful if there is equal protection for the collective rights to Freedom of Association and to Bargain Collectively; and

Whereas there are increasing numbers of employers in Barbados suppressing those said individual and collective rights;

Whereas those rights may be properly defended and protected where trade unions are empowered by law where workers invite them to engage in collective bargaining on the behalf of those said workers;

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Be It Resolved that this 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union calls on the Government of Barbados:

• To have the Employment Rights Act proclaimed on or before 4th October, 2012;

• To amend the Trade are bona fide members as determined by that Union; Union Act to require initial response within 14 days to a Union claim for recognition, and for compulsory recognition in 28 days where 30 percent

• To ensure that whatever the level of representation, that Union shall have the legal entitlement to represent employment rights up to and including the appearance before the Employment Rights Tribunal; and

• To provide for appropriate sanctions where attempts are made to subvert the fair application of the Terms of the Act.

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COMMITTED TO UNITY

Every member of the Barbados Workers’ Union is being called upon as an article of faith to commit and/or recommit to the obligation contained in the theme of the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference to be “Not Just CONNECTED but to be UNITED”.

The resolution reads as follows:

“Whereas it is generally recognised that the efforts to develop a more just society have been obstructed in part by words and actions among those charged with the responsibility to spearhead the efforts; and

“Whereas the trade unions themselves and the Labour Movement generally, may be identified as areas where lack of vision, or absence of political will., or other personal or organisational failing, is negatively affecting the human development initiative; and

“Whereas other community leaders, whether driven by the urge for personal aggrandisement or stifled by indolence or indifference, have failed to assist what needs to be a national effort; and

“Whereas the resulting inadequacy of the country’s outreach to the poor, the unemployed, the youth, the disabled and the other vulnerable and socially excluded groups in the country will ultimately lead to further economic, social and environmental degradation;

“Be It Resolved that this 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Barbados Workers’ Union, held at “Solidarity House”, Harmony Hall,

“Calls Upon every member as an article of faith to commit and/or recommit to the obligation contained in the Conference theme – to be Not Just Connected but to be United;

“Directs the incoming Executive Council to redouble the BWU’s efforts to organise, to build

partnerships and to give leadership in the struggle for justice

“Instructs the Executive Council to work to ensure that a Labour Agenda is prepared and submitted to the two major parties in the upcoming General Elections; and

“Mandates the BWU’s Executive Council to heighten its efforts to have the Caribbean Congress of Labour function as the regional catalyst for social change and development.”

TOWARDS A TRAINING POLICY

When the 500-odd delegates to the Barbados Workers’ Union’s 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference meet at “Solidarity House” on Saturday, August 25, they will be calling for, among other things, a more deliberate policy to be

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embraced within both the public and the private sectors to provide beyond academic education for enhancement in the quality of work.

A Resolution on “Towards a Training Policy” which will be debated at the Conference, reads as follows:

“Be it Resolved that this Conference declares its full support for the ongoing efforts of the Government to enhance through education the quality of Barbadian who seeks entry into the Labour market.

“And Be It Further Resolved that the Government and the Employer Be Reminded that education for entry must be linked to and reinforced by training to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and satisfactory productivity in the workplace.

“And Be It Also Resolved that a more deliberate policy be embraced within both the Public and Private Sectors to provide beyond academic education for enhancement in the quality of work, for revised and improved rewards structures and for the provision of ongoing training and retraining worker programmes to better meet the competitivity challenge facing the nation.”

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Commemoration of the 1937 Disturbances

The Barbados Workers’ Union’s participation in the historic march of Thursday, July 26, 2012, to commemorate the July 26 1937 disturbances embraced a wide cross section of the Union’s membership. Led by Port Workers and Sugar Workers, who were representing two of the pioneer divisions of the Union, the colourful parade of workers and other interest groups fittingly began at Golden Square, the area where Clement Payne now National Hero, Rt Excellent Clement Payne, the central figure in the “riots’ and his disciples were known to assemble, and ended appropriately in Independence Square, the City. It was if the march was symbolically tracing the path of the history of modern Barbados - from Golden Square via Heroes’ Square to Independence Square. Comrades Jeffrey Grant, a member of the Executive Council of the BWU and grandson of Olric Grant, along with Clyde Chase, a retired member of the Union, and son of Fitzgerald (“Menzies”) Chase, two of the key activists in the disturbances, carried the Union’s banner in the march. Other relatives and descendants of Chase, Grant and Israel Lovell took part in the march. The Union thought that allowing the relatives of the 1937 activists to be its standard bearers in the commemorative march was a symbolic way of paying tribute to these three men, all of whom were imprisoned for their part in the disturbances.

The event was organised by the Prime Minister’s Office, through the National Cultural Foundation (NCF). The disturbances, or “riots”, as they are interchangeably called, occurred principally in Bridgetown and were sparked by Clement Payne’s arrest and deportation to Trinidad.

The disturbances were a defining period in the history of Barbados, as they led to the weakening of the iron grip of the planter-merchant elite on the control of the island and ushered in a period that allowed for the masses to manage their destinies.

The name Clement Payne and the July 26, 1937 disturbances are inextricably linked. Indeed it was Payne’s proselytising, his subsequent seizure by the Police and deportation from Barbados that sparked the civil unrest by the masses, when once his followers had discovered that he had been deported.

Payne, a disciple of Uriah Buzz Butler, a Trinidadian trade unionist, came to Barbados in March of 1937, where he was educated as a young boy, intending to settle here and to work along the lines of the Trinidad

by Orlando Scott

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Workingmen’s Association and later of Butler’s British Empire Citizen’s and Workers’ Home Rule Party. Payne was the son of Barbadians who had migrated to Trinidad. Payne, then in his early thirties, at meetings in Bridgetown and particularly in the slum district at Golden Square in the City, sought to bring Barbadians up-to-date with the turmoil in Trinidad and Tobago. Payne claimed to be Minister of Propoganda’ from Trinidad. He brought to Barbados the slogan ‘Educate but do not violate”.

Payne had been able to develop a large following among the city dwellers and his best known disciples were Israel Lovell, Fitzgerald Chase, known as ‘Menzies’, Olrick Grant, Mortimer Skeete and Brains Alleyne

THE CAUSES?What were the causes of the disturbances? During the middle 1930s, economic depression, together with political stirrings, led to a series of disturbances in various West Indian territories. These outbursts began in 1934 with a sugar workers strike in Trinidad and occurred over a six-year period, ending in 1939 at Leonora in British Guiana. There was in 1933 an oil workers’ strike and hungry march in Trinidad, a number of labourers’ strikes in Jamaica, a sugar workers’ strike in St. Kitts, British Guiana and St. Vincent. The year 1937 saw another oil workers’ strike and general disturbances in Trinidad, a sugar workers’ strike in St. Vincent and the July disturbances in Barbados. The following year, sugar workers and Dockers struck in Jamaica and general disorder followed.

These disturbances pointed to a general and serious malaise and to the fact that the people of the West Indies themselves were not prepared to tolerate a continuance of their discontent although, in the view of some analysts, not agreed upon the steps to be taken. Little had changed in the hundred year span in terms of the lives of the masses in Barbados, and, indeed, the entire British West Indies between Emancipation in 1838 and 1937.

The late General Secretary of the BWU, Rt. Excellent Sir Frank Walcott, writing in 1983 in his weekly newspaper column, stated: “In 1937 democracy was unknown to the people of Barbados because those who produced the wealth, the workers, were disenfranchised and could not, as a matter of right, choose the persons who would represent them and speak on their behalf. Barbados had a form of representative government which did not represent the masses but which catered to a minority. The masses were therefore left outside the pale of political and economic representation. This type of political serfdom created traumatic inferiority and imposed grave disadvantages on its victims”.

On the social side, wages had remained stagnant with agricultural workers earning a mere 1s 6d a day, housing was poor, and health services as well as educational opportunities for the sons and daughters of wage earners were lacking.

Earlier attempts at establishing trade unions, as we shall see later, had failed; and, so, the miserable wages

The Union sought to make the march as authentic as possible. In the two pictures are two relics of yesterday- a breadcart, loaned to the Union by Purity Bakeries and a Spider, used by waterfront workers prior to the building of the Deep Water Harbour. The Spider, towed by sugar workers, is the property of Portvale Sugar Factory.

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and terribly depressed conditions which pervaded the working and living environment of those who had to struggle and work for a living, made life a constant struggle.

With regard to wages, Arthur Lewis, in “Labour in the West Indies” (1939), stated that the official committees, which investigated earnings of labourers, stated that wages were so low as just to permit subsistence at a deplorably low level. He added that evidence of this jumped to the eye in the ragged clothing, dilapidated housing and undernourished condition of the masses and their children. In relation to housing. Lewis noted that disrepair, absence of sanitary arrangements, high rents and overcrowding were the four main evils and, in the case of Barbados, an official report had stated that two-thirds of the population lived in dwellings of two rooms or less; indeed the typical case was to find the family living in a single room.

MALNUTRITION

Insofar as health was concerned, Lewis wrote: “Malnutrition plays havoc with productive efficiency and resistance to disease. There are thousands of people too poor to eat as much as is necessary, and any teacher can give cases of children coming to school on a breakfast of sugar and water, with no prospect of lunch. But far greater numbers eat enough and are yet malnourished because their diet is unbalanced. There is an abundance of starchy foods, but milk, meat and other fats are so expensive as to be beyond the reach of the working classes, except as Sunday luxuries.”

Sir Frank observed “the scandalously low wages paid in sugar, the major industry, and the poor working conditions in that sector, together with the miserable slums in urban Barbados and equally bad housing in rural Barbados, made life for the poor a nightmare. This was the life of the workers of the past who worked hard to develop this island,”

TURNING POINT

Progressive thinkers in Barbados have emphasised that the disturbances led to a significant turning point in Barbados and the positive social changes that occurred and the time frame in which they took place have given credence to that view. The disturbances occurred on July 26, 1937, and rallied during the following two days. In 1938, one year later, Barbados set up the Deane Commission to investigate the disturbances.

The local commission, chaired by Sir George Deane and which included E.R.L. Ward, (later Sir Erskine) was followed by the Royal Commission, also known as the Moyne Commission which came to Barbados the same year. Sir Erskine, one of the early progressive thinkers in Barbados, is said to have made an outstanding contribution to the Report of the Deane Commission and the recommendations paved the way for important changes on the island. The Recommendations made by the Royal Commission, among them the setting up of trade union organisations and the Labour Department, proved to be far-reaching in terms of the island’s social development, but a number of them were not made public until the end of World War 11 (1939-45).

At left is the BWU contingent in the march, led by the Retirees Division. At right, members of the Barbados Landship and the Ministry of Labour, in Golden Square.

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The Royal Commission made it clear that the root causes of the disturbances were social and economic, which points to that fact that the disturbances were, without doubt, a manifestation of the total dissatisfaction with the social and economic situation which the masses were forced to endure. There is, however, much evidence to show that it took some heavy criticism and lobbying by leaders in Britain, such as Lord Olivier and Parliamentarian and Labour leader, Arthur Creech Jones, to prod the British Government to act. Lord Olivier, who had served in Jamaica and Dominica, and who had been long regarded as an authority on West Indian matters had, for some time, criticised the inaction of the British Government in respect of its trade policy regarding West Indian sugar and he had critical, both

in the House of Lords and in the British newspapers, concerning the exploitation and the squalor in the British West Indies.

Arthur Creech Jones, MP., was among other things, a member of the Committee for West Indies Affairs, formed on November 5, 1938, for the purposes of giving publicity to conditions in the West Indies, and to make representations to Government departments and to give other such help to the West Indies as could be mobilised in England. Dr. C.B. Bertie Clarke and Peter Blackman, two Barbadians sat on that committee.

Creech-Jones’ views on the conditions in the West Indies squared with Lord Olivier’s. Writing in the Preface of ‘Labour in the West Indies’, he stated that “the hopeless squalor of today is in a real way the measure of the shortcomings of our colonial policy and if our economic neglect”.

Among the recommendations of the Royal Commission, which comprised a number of outstanding trade unionists in Britain, were (1) the establishment of trade unions in Barbados to see after the economic interests of the workers and (2) the establishment of a Department of Labour and a Labour Commissioner.

At left, Andrew Pilgrim performs the role of Clement Payne, delivering a speech in Golden Square. At right BWU President General Linda Brooks (r) and former BWU Vice President, Ethrill Critchlow, listening to the speech.

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The Trade Union Act was passed in 1939 in the Barbados Parliament and the Barbados Workers’ Union, the first legal trade union to be established in Barbados, was formally registered on October 4, 1941, with Grantley Adams, as President General, Hugh Springer as General Secretary and Hilton Coulston, as Treasurer. Both Adams and Springer, who are now acclaimed as National Heroes with the titles Rt. Excellent Sir Grantley and Sir Hugh, were barristers, with a British education, having attended Oxford University. The little known Hilton Coulston, a school teacher, was a firebrand in his day.

In 1944, three years after the formation of the Union, there was a landmark in the forward advance of the workers’ movement. The income qualifications for the franchise, the power to vote, was reduced from 50 pounds sterling per annum to 20 pounds sterling per

annum, thus facilitating more persons to cast their votes.

The general elections following the constitutional change saw the removal of the sugar barons and the princes of trade from their political seats of power. The BLP, which like the BWU, emerged from the Barbados Progressive League, won 8 seats.

The socialist leaning Congress Party, led by Wynter Crawford, won 8 seats. The Conservatives were able to win 8 seats also. So in a short seven-year span 1937 to 1944, we saw whirlwind changes. Now to the march: We were happy to state that the BWU was designated by the Government as a key player in Thursday evening’s ceremony, which included the march, because the history of the BWU is intimately tied to the disturbances.

PIONEER DIVISIONS

We gave pride of place to those pioneer divisions which are still with us and these are the sugar workers, the bakers and the Port Workers. The Central Foundry Workers and the Barbados Foundry Workers’ divisions are no longer with us since those companies have closed their doors; but we will have to pay tribute to those stalwarts who built the BWU and ensured the freedoms of the working class of this country.

The disturbances led to the break down of the Old Order. Barbadians have since then, together built a society in which there is respect one for the other. These attributes have resulted in Barbados evolving into a destination of choice for the rich and the poor from across the Globe.

We have given pride of place to the Rt. Excellent Sir Grantley Adams, the BWU’s first President General and the Rt. Excellent Sir Hugh Springer, the founding General Secretary, for establishing a strong platform for Labour and, latterly, to the Rt. Excellent Sir Frank Walcott for building on the work of Sir Grantley and Sir Hugh. But we cannot ever overlook the work of those early Labour leaders in the continuum from Samuel Jackman Prescod to Dr. Charles Duncan

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O’Neal (all National Heroes) to take up the workers’ cudgel. According to historian Robert Morris, at the level of another continuum, the work of Hewitt, Elcock, Professor S. Arlington Newton and the Wilson Brothers did not flourish to provide the thrust for the early labour movement. This effort could not have flourished, since there was no trade union legislation in Barbados at that time, to give the early activists legal teeth to work on behalf of the labouring classes. The Democratic League and the Workingmen’s Association, led by the

Stage actor Antoine Williams does a re-enactment of the late BWU General Secretary Rt. Excellent Sir Frank Walcott, addressing crowds from the balcony of the original BWU Headquarters on Fair Child Street and now the Headquarters of the BWU Co-op. Credit Union. It was from this balcony that Sit Frank delivered many of his speeches to workers, during the 1960s and 1970s.

progressive mind of Dr. O’Neal in the 1920s, foundered not merely because of the absence of legislation but because of the oppressive attitude of the Government of the day, led by the merchant-planter elite and their violence against progressive thought.

Our hope is that the day will come, and soon, when Barbadians will appreciate the significant contribution of the early Labour stalwarts.

The Unionist 15

The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Workers worshipped at the Nazarene Church on Collymore Rock, at the start of their week of activities in the month of July. At left BWU General Secretery, Sir Roy Trotman poses with invited guests, BWU Executive Council members, Union staff and Hotel and Restaurant workers who attended the service. On Sir Roy’s left are: Phillip Bostic (BWU), Hugh Riley, Secretery General, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Minister of Tourism, The Honourable Richard Sealy, LeVere Richards (BWU), Reverend Dr. Sir Wesley Hall, Heather Coward-Downes (BWU), Beverley Collymore (BWU) and BWU President General, Linda Brooks.

2012 Hotel & Restaurant Workers’ Week

16 The Unionist

NEGOTIATIONS ENVIRONMENT DIFFICULT

The Barbados Workers’ Union expects that the negotiating environment will be difficult this year.

Negotiators will be forced, as they were during the past years, to focus on minimising the harsh consequences experienced when companies’ efforts to reduce losses, or in the minority of cases, maximise profits, directly impact their financial wellbeing, states the Executive Council’s report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference.

The Report states that, for the most part, reason has prevailed and notes that the Union’s efforts not to exacerbate an already tenuous situation have resulted in moderates increases which averaged 3% per annum.

“Efforts have been focusssed on balancing the tension between maintaining job security and the need for improvements in compensation levels in the face of rising inflation: all this against a backdrop of ensuring that whatever is ventured is sustainable”, the Report added.

According to the Report, “the balancing act of maintaining jobs has been a central feature of the Union’s negotiations’ work”, adding that lower than desired domestic demand for products and services had caused companies to reduce work hours in some instances and, in others, had served to motivate attempts at the flexibilisation of labour.

Noting that there have been reports of much consideration of introducing temporary short-term contracts of employment which could easily become a mechanism of precarious employment, the Report stated: “The Union remains vigilant and will endeavor to stamp out any notion of precarious employment disguised as flexible work arrangements”

The Report observes that despite the commitments by the government and the private sector to retain jobs wherever possible, and the use of legitimate flexible arrangements, unemployment had risen steadily over

the past year, ending at an average 11.2% for 2011, increasing marginally to 11.8% as at March 2012. Losses in 2011 were registered mainly in manufacturing, finance and professional services. For the first quarter of 2012, losses were recorded in tourism, manufacturing and non-sugar agriculture.

COMMENDATION FOR GOVERNMENT RE:

LAYOFF POLICY

Government has been commended by the Barbados Workers’ Union regarding its approach to the overall layoff question.

The BWU has said that the Government made itself praiseworthy for its positive response to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) global call for a social protection floor which is intended to ensure that there would be a government-appointed floor below which citizens would not be allowed to fall.

The initiative has extended unemployment benefits from 26 weeks on a claim to 40 weeks on that claim, and the BWU, in its Report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, has stated that because the recovery process is still eluding several of the country’s planned programmes for national recovery, those extra 14 weeks are proving to be quite welcome.

REMAIN TRUE TO THE SPIRIT OF THE PROTOCOL

Companies in Barbados which have remained true to the spirit of the Protocol governing the country’s Tripartite Social Partnership relationship regarding lay-offs have been commended by the Barbados Workers’ Union.

On the other hand, the BWU reports that there are some other companies which have denied themselves an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that they do not derive any special satisfaction from seeing workers being driven into the harsh arms of unemployment.

The BWU Executive Council’s Report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, states that the biggest

The Unionist 17

single evidence of layoffs during the past year comes from Almond Resorts Limited. Almond Resorts Limited, a subsidiary of Neal and Massy, closed the doors of Almond Resorts Limited, one of its three Barbados-based hotel plants on this year.

The Executive Council Report has charged that even though the Barbados Shipping and Trading Company Limited (BS&T) was a major player in the framing of the Social Partnership, that company’s parent body did not apply the terms of the Protocol, particularly Section 6.13 where it is agreed that “where it is perceived in an undertaking that there has to be, for whatever reason, a reduction in the workforce or major payroll reductions, the relevant union or staff association, or where no such body exists, then the workers themselves, shall be so informed in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to the statutory notice period; in all instances where major payroll reduction are being considered consequent upon significant changes in production, programme, organisation, structure, technology or otherwise in an undertaking, the reasons for the proposed terminations shall be discussed with the relevant union or staff association, and where there is no such body, the workers themselves, prior to the implementation of such changes; any such consultation shall include consideration of ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the number of employees to be dismissed and mitigating the consequences of the dismissals; if after the required consultation, retrenchment is unavoidable, then the termination of employees shall be based on the principle of ‘last in, first out’, so that an employee with the seniority in service shall have precedence over an employee with seniority in the particular job category of the bargaining unit (where applicable) in which the terminations will occur, provided however, that there may be a variation of the principle in cases where there is just reason for terminating an employee with seniority in service”.

The Report notes however that, it must be said that following an appropriate challenge by the Barbados Workers’ Union, the lead spokesperson for Neal and Massy apologised for the breach and has been undertaking to keep faith with the spirit of the Protocol in the Company’s efforts to dispose of the property

which Barbados called ‘Heywoods’ because of its location. It is also being fully cooperative in discussion on the sale of the second Almond Resorts, at Holetown, St. James.

THE BWU WILL NOT BE SILENCED

With a national election virtually around the corner, the Barbados Workers’ Union will wish as much as possible to steer clear of deliberate partisan comment.

The Union will not, however, be cowed into keeping silent in those areas where economists and political hopefuls seek to have the Government and, as a consequence, the cooperating private sector, abandon the Barbados Tripartite Social Compact geared to preserving the Barbadian society.

In the Executive Council’s Report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, scheduled for “Solidarity House” on Saturday, August 25 and Saturday, September 1, it has been stated that the Union has consistently argued that the dampening of demand may work in other communities but may not be used as a Barbados solution. The Report added that the purchasing power of our community must be enhanced since “it will lead directly to consumer spending in areas which will see jobs being maintained and new ones created”.

The Report has stated that “the Union supports the provision of the 2012 Statement of Financial and Budgetary Proposals which sees an increased tax credit providing for greater discretionary spending which will take place”. This comes on the heels of an increase in the minimum wage for shop assistants.

The Report also made the point that it was well known that the Union was not satisfied with the $250.00 which is the new minimum rate for a 40-hour week. The Union considers this to be an interim arrangement and will insist that the Administration honours its promise to make a further adjustment.

18 The Unionist

NEED FOR SERVICE-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

The Barbados Workers’ Union is pleased that efforts are being made to stimulate domestic and international business and to make them more efficient.

With direct reference to international business, the Union considers that Messrs Ernst and Young are sound in their assessment that “the proposed amendments should increase the attractiveness of Barbados as a jurisdiction for conducting international business”. However experience has shown that tax incentives alone are not enough and the Government needs to put an end to bureaucratic obstacles to doing business and also needs to create a service-friendly environment to attract major foreign investment and generate revenue for Barbados.

The Union believes that the removal of obstacles and the building of a better business-friendly environment are areas where greater expansionary work is required. The BWU further believes that the heightened level of competition will tilt the balance further in favour of service delivery.

Although it is not part of its original mandate, the Union states that it continues to spend significantly in this area of workers’ development, recognising that inconsistency in service has moved from being viewed as a mere weakness and is now seen as a threat to Barbados’ competitiveness, growth and prosperity.

“What is needed is a standard that is excellent when compared to international standards but commonplace in application”, according to the BWU.

The BWU hopes that those areas in the Budget Debate which addressed this issue will be collated, analysed and acted upon by all the stakeholders without undue delay.

NIS FUNDS MUST BE MANAGED BY THE NIS BOARD

The Barbados Workers’ Union has added its voice to the debate on the management of the National Insurance Scheme Funds.

In the Report to its 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, the Union has stated that “it considers it necessary to repeat that the National Insurance Scheme’s funds are workers’ money, contributed by workers themselves, with matching amounts from their employees.

“It must be proper and fitting that the management of those funds remain always a matter for the tripartite direction of the NIS Board rather than for unilateral determination by the Ministry of Finance”, the Report states.

BWU SUPPORTS RELIEF FOR RETIRED PERSONS

The Barbados Workers’ Union is supportive of the effort which has been made by Government to extend the level of relief which it gives to retired persons, this time through is land tax rebate. The Union’s membership is pleased with this, as it is with the Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions granted.

On the matter of Divestment, the Union repeats the position to which it has held firm ever since the issue raised its head and that is that, while “it will agree to corporatisation, it cannot support wholesale privatisation of the island’s airport, sea port or surface transport operations. These remain at the pinnacle of the commanding heights of our economy and, as such, must always be managed for the welfare of the total Barbadian society”.

The BWU has stressed that the point has to be made once and again, and repeated, that such views “are not expressed merely to capture the intellectual curiosity of our comrades; their import should be studied and their interests jointly pursued”.

The Unionist 19

“Suffice it to say that the Executive Council concurs with the economic gurus who are of the view that the economic engines of foreign exchange driven growth for the medium term are tourism, international business and financial services, alternative energy and integrated agriculture; investments which will ensure international competitiveness”

MERELY INTELLECTUALLY CONNECTED

The Barbados Workers’ Union has identified what it refers to as “two glaring examples” in the local Labour Movement, of late, regarding “what can go wrong when we are merely intellectually connected, but lack the discernment to recognise the full extent of the unfolding plan.”

The Executive Council’s report to the 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference, which will be held on Saturday, August 25 and September 1, lists ‘the Alexandra school dilemma’ and the BWU General Secretary’s May Day message as the two examples.

The Report noted that the Movement was deflected from addressing the fundamental question of its role as defined ever since trade unions made their mark generally and in Barbados, in particular. With reference to what it describes as “the Alexandra School dilemma”, the Report stated that this was now properly with a Government appointed review body, as it should be, and stressed that its reference to the issue “is to underscore the importance of having institutions with human responsibilities as critical as those of a trade union not to be diverted from their mandate”.

The second “glaring example”, according to the Report refers to an artificial crisis deliberately introduced on May 1 (May Day 2012) to deflect the thoughts of perceptive Barbadians away from the real thrust of the May Day Message delivered for the Barbados Workers’ Union by its Chief Executive Officer, Senator Sir Roy Trotman.

The Report emphasised that it is known and clearly understood now that there was no slight in naming a

Jew by his country of origin. The entire North African population is so divided. One gets Moroccan Jews, Tunisian Jews, Algerian Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Egyptian Jews and so on. The reference to an Egyptian Jew was never really a cause for concern”. “When then, is it, the Executive Council of the BWU wishes to ask the Press and the two politicians that they did not wish to have the public understand and express an opinion on?

The plea made on May 1 was that Barbadians of goodwill should come together to ensure than the Social Partnership should not be sacrificed on the altar of personal greed and anti-Barbadian discrimination.

The second plea was that our practice of equal treatment: of equal pay for equal work, for equal application of all, ALL human and trade union rights to be evenly applied rather than in a discriminatory manner. Where John Public responded harshly or even spitefully, that is his/her right and should be the expectation of the Union.

“Where trade union leaders miss the bus, this represents a wake-up call for Union leaders to be urged to rouse themselves from their slothfulness. The point must be made here, and reinforced that a union position taken for workers should not be surrendered because it would make a special interest group happy.

“If Labour is going to achieve anything it will not do so by pandering to any class or creed or ethnic grouping. It is not enough merely to be connected in this debate. Labour must be united,” the Report stated.

20 The Unionist

May Day 2012 In Pictures

BWU General Secretary, Sir Roy Trotman (c) in red shirt leads the May Day street parade in the company of members of the Social Partnership.

Pauline Lady Walcott, widow of the Rt. Excellent Sir Frank Walcott, late General Secretary of the BWU is pictured during the wreath-laying ceremony on May Day.

Lord High Admiral Vernon Watson directs the Barbados Landship during the 2012 May Day performance.

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart meets the May Day patrons at Brown’s Beach following his address.

The Unionist 21

Krystal Cummins-Beckles on stage at May Day 2012 Former Calypso King, John King delights the May Day crowd.

A section of the May Day crowd is captivated by the music of Calypsonian Grynner and the BWU Orchestra, led by Tony “Sarge” Sargeant.

The Cadet Corps marching on May Day.

22 The Unionist

National HIV/AIDS Commission

NATIONAL HIV/AIDS COMMISSION DISTRIBUTES 70 000 CONDOMS OVER CROP OVER WEEKEND

The Secretariat of the National HIV/AIDS Commission, on Grand Kadooment Monday, brought to an end a series of Crop Over interventions, which were focused primarily on partner reduction and condom use.

It came to a climax with some 70 000 Lifestyles condoms being provided to party goes and revellers, who attended Cohobblopot, ForeDay morning Jam and Grand Kadooment .

Director, Jacqueline Wiltshire Gay noted that the season long interventions, sought to change certain behaviours in the varying populations who attended Crop Over events. “Secretariat members have been conducting an extensive survey on condom-use here in Barbados for the last two months. Through this exercise we sought to get an insight the range of Barbadian attitudes towards both male and female condoms. The survey was executed at nine of the registered Calypso Tents, popular Crop Over fetes as well as with some of the Grand Kadooment bands”.

The mandate of the NHAC is “To coordinate effectively the national expanded response to reduce the incidence and spread of the epidemic in Barbados.” The Crop Over season, therefore offers an excellent opportunity for interventions targeting behaviour change and the adoption of safe sexual choices and behaviours.

This year, the Commission’s free music truck, which has become a favourite of revellers, saw an unprecedented number of followers this season shadowing that of the other free music truck provided for revellers. The Commission is attributing such a success not only to the condoms distributed but the positive messages relayed to the revellers on ForeDay morning and Grand Kadooment day.

“Everybody on the truck from the DJ to the volunteers were trained in the rudiments of HIV awareness. We don’t only play popular music on the journey but we broadcast HIV awareness messages and songs as well, encouraging condom use and partner reduction to those who are of legal age and abstinence to those who are not.

This is the third year we have put our music truck on the road for the revellers and each year it gets bigger and better in terms of their response and behaviour. Kudos to First Choice Sound System and the 250 000 watts of power provided by DJ “Baby Bubbla,” our private security team L.A. Security as well as the Royal Barbados Police Force and their Special Services Unit under the direction of Senior Superintendant, Bruce Rowe, who kept the crowd under sublime control, a sentiment echoed by many a bystander who witnessed the truck’s journey on both days,” Mrs Wiltshire Gay said.

The NHAC also thanked the many patrons who cooperated with the volunteers over the Crop Over period and all the revellers who had a safe ForeDay morning Jam and Grand Kadooment day behind the Commission’s free music truck.

by FABIAN TODD Public Relations Officer of the National HIV/AIDS Commission

The Unionist 23

Leave The Sugar Lands Alone

In spite of the declining economic contribution of sugar, the Barbados Workers’ Union strongly disagrees with those who would recommend that sugar production be discontinued and that the land currently under cultivation be used for housing, recreation and other suggested purposes. Rather, the BWU wants the recently concluded comprehensive study of the industry, which recommends its transformation by way of diversification, should be implemented. The BWU, through a formal resolution of a recent Annual Delegates’ Conference, reiterated its continued call for the implementation of a land use policy which will ensure that an adequate quantity of arable land is retained for food production, thereby ensuring a level of food security and protecting the soil from environmental degradation factors such as erosion. The BWU’s view is that even though, today, sugar employs a mere three percent of the national workforce and contributes a mere one percent of the country’s gross domestic product, yet, sugar remains critical to Barbados’ macro-economic policy, notwithstanding that it contributes a mere 0.4 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

DON’T SUCCUMB TO THE NEO-LIBERAL PRESSURES

The Barbados Workers’ Union does not wish the Government of Barbados to succumb to the neo-liberal pressures which are clamouring for the imposition of a commercial rather than a socialised rate of bus fares. The Union is pointing out that the reality is that all over the world, public transport is pitched as low as possible to ensure that the most vulnerable incommunities are provided with the essentials for a decent existence.

According to the Union, the Transport Board has had many challenges springing from the stringency measures imposed by the Board. However, it notes that there are provisions for ongoing bipartite social dialogue at the Board, which permit most issues which are raised to be addressed without reference to third parties. The Union believes that the leaders of this social interaction on both sides should be complimented for the respect they give to country’s industrial relations customs and practices. The Union, lauding the vital role which the Transport Board has played in the country’s social and cultural development, stated that it realised that the crisis had taken its toll on the operation of this service as it had on almost every other aspect of the country’s performance, with some routes having been reconfigured and some services having been cut back to provide greater economies.

24 The Unionist

Comrade Beverley Beckles has completed another chapter in the book of her professional life, having retired from the Executive Council of the Barbados Workers’ Union after serving that institution for the past ten years.

During her tenure, Comrade Beckles has seen many changes in the Industrial Relation climate in Barbados and, in particular, the Barbados Workers Union. Her maiden speech on the floor of the Annual Delegates’ Conference was an appeal for succession planning within the organisation and she has witnessed that it has come to fruition.

Comrade Beckles has a thirst for worker knowledge and education at every level and as Chair of the Education Committee, BWU, agitated for greater use of the BWU Labour College for enhanced training programmes that can be accredited. Comrade Beckles’ belief is that the only limitations that one has are those that are self-imposed and is of the view that age should not prevent a person from pursuing their dreams. So that beginning 2006, she embarked on a series of studies including a Master of Science Degree in Management, UWI, Cave Hill, specialising in International Management.

This committed individual has also served on the BWU’s Gender Equality and the Organising committees and was a member of the Solidarity Toastmaster. However volunteerism is nothing new to Comrade Beckles since the majority of her life has been spent in some aspect of that work. She previously held the roles of Leader of her school’s 4H club, President of the Youth Organisation of her church (AYPA) and Administrative Secretary at the Diocesan Executive level for that organisation.

During that period, Comrade Beckles a consummate believer in giving back, traversed the length and breadth of Barbados assisting at children homes from

St. Lucy to St. Philip. Comrade Beckles has had the privilege of serving as a Council Member at both the St. Augustine and Christ Church Parish Church Anglican churches and has also completed a stint on the Finance Committee of the latter.

Motherhood did not change Comrade Beckles’ quest to assist at all times as she shifted into another gear and actively participated in every parent association of the schools and organisations her daughter attended; having served on the executive of the John Beckles Day Nursery, Harrison College PTA and performed the role of Secretary of the inaugural parents association of the Sea Cadets. She remains a member of the parent body that mentors the Christ Church Parish Church Youth Chorale.

All of these activities though not exhaustive, do not tire the “ever ready” lady, as in the last year and a half, Comrade Beckles polished embarked on a fitness regime with the Barbados Masters and Seniors Athletic Club (BAMSAC), which has seen her competing in race walking and a limited amount of running. In that short period she has gained a Trophy in the Customs and Excise (2011) 5k walk, third place medal in the inaugural UWI Cave Hill 2011 6k walk, the age group champion for two consecutive periods, 2011 and 2012, for De Heart of the Nation 5k walk through hills. If that is not enough comrade Beckles ran at this year’s Relay fair and gained Bronze and Gold medals. Crowning off these were a Silver Medal for 600k, best only by Vida Batson; and a Gold Medal for the 5k race walk in her age group at the Senior Games, proving that age is just a number and is not spelt LIMITED.

Although Comrade Beckles leaves the Executive of the BWU and thanks the general membership for the opportunity they afforded her to serve them, she strongly believes that the cause is bigger than the

A True Volunteer Aging Actively

The Unionist 25

person and will continue to assist in any capacity where she is welcomed. Though a proponent of workers’ rights, she however believes that employees have just as much responsibility to the employer and should always aim to give their 100% if not 110%. The image of an organisation is reflected heavily in the quality of service it gives and can be a win- win situation.

She believes that the BWU is the true voice of labour in this country. The fact that so many of this country’s heroes have a connection to this movement is no accident and we have a legacy to be maintained and guarded with selfless commitment and the guidance of God.

Volunteerism and Active Aging; truly spiritually rewarding.

BWU GOOD HOST

My first and only choice for a practicum placement was the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and it was the best decision I have ever made. I was cautioned by my Lecturer that the students assigned to the Union usually complained of the hard work, long hours and research involved. These statements only made me more determined to gain the placement.

I was therefore ecstatic when I was chosen as the Masters Intern attached to the BWU for 2012 as I knew I would gain all the practical experience I needed in Industrial Relations as the BWU is the leading general union in

Barbados. I was also pleased that my Supervisor would be the General Secretary of the Union, whereby I would be privileged to receive all the guidance I needed.

My three (3) months stint at the Union was therefore too short as I felt welcomed almost immediately by all staff working at the Union’s headquarters and the Labour College. Staff was always willing to assist, give information or impart knowledge. However, learning transfer was not only one-way, as I was requested to give my input and knowledge on general matters, grievances or at the Labour College.

The knowledge gained at the Union was therefore effective as it showed the absolute necessity for strong unions that are committed to social justice in order to combat unfair practices by employers. The alacrity with which the Union responded to members’ complaints was extremely commendable given their workload and constraints. This response indicated to me that the Union took its business seriously and was committed to representing its constituents regardless of the complaint, the members’ job title, division or social standing.

The strong leadership was also representative of the previous trade union stalwarts who impacted heavily on obtaining labour rights, social justice and freedom of association for each and every worker. This leadership was witnessed in the difficult negotiations attended where in this present day, employers in Barbados are not willing to respect workers rights or human rights; employers who only respect the shareholder’s profit and create a work environment that is stressful, demeaning and unbearable.

It can therefore be said that the BWU was an extremely good host organisation and it is my wish that the Union continues its partnership with the University of the West Indies, Graduate Studies Masters Programme in Labour and Employment Relations towards producing well rounded Masters students in this very important field of development.

By Janelle Farley

26 The Unionist

Mervyn says “Thank You” to All

I joined the staff of the Barbados Transport Board on April 3rd 1985 as a bus driver. This was to be the beginning of a new era and adventure in my life. As part of a young group of enthusiastic new employees, I immediately sought to inspire change in the morale and overall outlook of my fellow workers having had prior work experience in the Civil Service.

This approach brought me into immediate conflict with some of the members of the then committee of management at the Board and I wrote to the then General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Comrade Frank Walcott (now, the late Right Excellent Sir Frank Walcott) complaining about the treatment which was being meted out to the staff, especially the new ones, by delegates.

This determination to fight for the cause of the worker at the Transport Board resulted in my being sent to the Labour College for training. In 1987, within two years of my joining the Union, I became a shop steward and started my journey as one of the grievance handling delegates at the Board.

Over the years, I became one of the fiercest defenders of workers’ rights at the Transport Board and where others would concede defeat in difficult matters, I would pursue every known, and, sometimes, unthought-of avenue, to have the worker set free. I was called hard nose because of this.

As time went on, I was asked by my Committee of Management to offer myself for service at the highest level of worker representation. In 1990 I sought to become a member of the Executive Council of the Union at the Annual Delegates’ Conference. I was unsuccessful in this first attempt and finished as a runner up.

My faith in God and the conviction that God had called me to serve Him and His people at this level was

confirmed when I was invited to join the Council in early 1991 as a replacement for a Member who had gone overseas.

This new journey having begun in 1991 lasted until the present without my having ever been defeated at the polls. I take no credit for this; I humbly submit that it was all the workings of my Heavenly Father that kept me elected until now.

I do not, and cannot, ignore the effort of all my colleagues at the Transport Board and all of the “wonderful delegates” from all work places across Barbados, some of whom only heard my name and made this very humbling and respectful journey possible for me.

Sadly, my tenure as a grievance handling delegate at my workplace came to an end after 24 years of continuous service on behalf of the workers, when in my absence on holiday overseas, I was unable to get a nomination to serve as Delegate/Shop Steward for the then divisional elections of 2011.

I say this to the General Secretary, Sir Roy Trotman: “You became the father I never had the opportunity to rest on, in my formative years and in my tenure as shop steward and member of the Executive Council. You treated me like a son and my family respects you like the father you have been to us”.

To all the Staff members of this wonderful Union of which I am proud to be a member, you have nurtured and guided me through many a difficult season, young and old/seniors alike, you helped to make my life fulfilling and the journey as a shop steward worth all the sacrifice.

Gabby (Scott), Ulric (Sealy), Clifford (Mayers), Le Vere (Richards), Yvonne (Walkes) and Wilma (Clement) : I call you by your first names not out of disrespect for you but to make this very personal.

by Comrade Reverend Mervyn Blackman

The Unionist 27

You took the time to impart of yourselves into my life and the lives of many a worker at the Labour College. Your contributions have not been wasted. I wish, like the one out of the ten lepers that Jesus spoke about who were healed, to come back to you and to say Thank You, for the change you have wrought in my life.

I began this discourse by indicating that I am Rev. Blackman and that was purposely stated. I have been in the church from the tender age of eight (8) years old. I was not forced to go to church; I went. All the years that I have served as a Shop Steward, I did so being a Pastor. If I had to start over again, I would not want to change it from being so. What is the purpose for this statement someone may ask?

To every member of the Barbados Workers’ Union, who knows Jesus Christ as Saviour and who may, or may not, be holding office in your Local Church, I want to challenge you. Representation of the Worker is also a vital part of ministry and any opportunity which you might get to do so, I appeal to you to take it

with both hands and give of your service to the Lord and to your fellow worker in that special and unique way that only you the Believer can. Remember, Jesus tells us, we that are strong, Bear the infirmity of the weak. Take Care of those who cannot take care of themselves.

In closing, I want to thank my family for releasing me day and night to respond to the calls of my workmates at the Transport Board and those other Union members who knew me that would also call. I want, also, to thank the members of 4th Dimension Ministry Church of the Caribbean Evangelistic Fellowship, who released me to serve in the Union until now. I give thanks to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity afforded me and for all the experience that I have gained over the years which now helps me in my Ministry.

Again to you the Members of the Barbados Workers’ Union, from all walks of life and at all levels of involvement, Thank you and May God continue to strengthen and keep you. I am not retired, just redirected. THANK YOU.

Mervyn Blackman, 2nd from left, top row, in the 2011 Executive Council photo above

28 The Unionist

The International Labour Conference marked a defining moment for the Labour Movement, for the Caribbean, for working men and women everywhere, as well as for those who are seeking entry now or are in some measure preparing themselves for the world of work.

This sentiment was expressed by Sir Roy Trotman, General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union and former Chairman of the Workers’ Group, Governing Body, ILO, during his address to the Conference, which was held in Geneva in June.

Sir Roy said the Conference marked “a defining moment” because it heralded the news that what the ILO struggled for and achieved was not fanciful or romantic but, although visionary, was practical and realisable. He view was that the strategic objectives which the ILO had set itself had not managed merely to satisfy conference delegates in Geneva, but had been elevated to become the mantra for the exploited, the relegated, the excluded, those marginalised and those discriminated against and denied equal opportunity.

In reference to the era of the retiring Director General of the ILO Ambassador Juan Somavia, Sir Roy said: “The Somavia era, if I may be allowed so to designate it, has caused me, and many like me, to see before our very eyes the transforming light of recognition of the ILO as more than a relic of some crotchety old men who were tired of interruptions which were being experienced in the fast growing industrial centres of the world 100 years ago.

“People started relating to their towns and their places of work rather than to a far away place in a country then better recalled for the special volumes relating to cold war espionage and to numbered accounts than for its location as the crucible for the humanization of work. They realised that the ILO was and could be part of their experience”

Sir Roy credited Ambassador Somavia with putting in place a new team which skillfully and comprehensively moved the ILO from a position where it lay dust covered on the shelves of history to one where, in new colours and with more focussed programming, it is today making its presence felt in all the important decision-making halls and corridors across the globe.

Speaking for the Caribbean as well as for the many states making up the developing world, Sir Roy made bold to say that the Somavia era “was particularly refreshing”. “I found it to be one when we discovered how much more we shared in common than the conventional thought previously expressed. Increasingly the First World leadership and the Developing World acknowledged that there was more in the world of work that made us one than there was which divided us.”

Sir Roy was of the view that the divisions now presenting themselves may be driven by other considerations and would have to be treated with measured steps, which should be taken to ensure that the ILO’s founding principles and objectives were not surrendered.

According to Sir Roy whilst it was reasonable for us to take satisfaction at this time from the gains which were made through the efforts of the ILO, it would be self defeating however if we traced it all to one man., however grateful we may be for his service.

Sir Roy stated: “The successes of the Somavia era are not stand alone successes. They represent the triumph of human values over greed, and arrogance, selfishness and pride. They are the results of resolute effort by women and men, visionaries in their own right, who were prepared, who are prepared, to keep alive the principles in our ILO Charter and our Declaration of Philadelphia.

“Within the many examples we could share, if time permitted, we should find several instances of

International Labour Conference A Defining Moment For Labourby Sir Roy Trotman

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the conscious effort of the ILO and its constituent organizations to set aside personal and sectoral interest of the mandate which the organization has set itself almost 100 years ago, and to which it has sought to remain faithful ever since.

“My message to the Conference is that there is nothing which has transpired in the world of work which should lead anyone to revise the ILO’s values, or the system of evaluating them. Stresses and strains will appear from time to time, and these will of necessity test the firmness of our structures. But I believe that we have built on a firm foundation, we have the wherewithal to withstand those stresses.

“My final words are the following:

“We salute the period of success which he ILO has experienced, we are grateful for the prominence which has been asserted globally by the organisation through the Director General and the Governing Body. We believe that the new leadership will bring equal commitment to the cause of our organisation.

“We believe that the total organisation must work together to prove that together we can be more than conquerors: Governments, Employers, Workers, and yes, The Office. We must work towards a seamless successful transition.

“We salute the retiring DG;

“We welcome the incoming one!”

Sir Roy at the ILO

30 The Unionist

The United NationsNon-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS)

The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) interviewed Dr. Ana Teresa Romero, Chief External Relations Branch, Department for Partnerships and Development Cooperation, ILO, on the relationship between the Decent Work Agenda and the three pillars of sustainable development; in the promotion of rights at work as human rights; and on how to create more decent work opportunities for youth. This interview does not necessarily reflect the views of the ILO.

NGLS: In the world of work, the social, economic and environmental dimensions come together. How can the Decent Work framework allow for a better integration of these three dimensions of sustainable development?

Dr. Romero: The Decent Work Agenda makes it possible to address the social and labour impacts of developments in the economic and environmental spheres. Adopted by the ILO’s tripartite constituents in 1999, this Agenda recalls and reinforces the relevance of those values and principles that have underpinned the objectives and work of the ILO from its inception. The Decent Work Agenda rests on four pillars:(i) respect for rights at work as Human Rights;(ii) employment promotion(iii) social protection; (iv) social dialogue

Decent Work-oriented approaches to policies and programmes are fulfilling the aims of the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia in rapidly changing national and global economic contexts.

According to this Declaration which sets out the objectives of the ILO, “all human being, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic

security and equal opportunity ….it is the responsibility of the ILO to examine and consider all international and financial polices and measures in the light of this fundamental objective”. These words attest to the interdependence of economic and social policies and their links to poverty reduction, social justice and rights-based approach to development.

The environmental impact of activities in the world of work has long been addressed by focusing on the provision of “adequate protection for the life and health of workers in all occupations”. A recent ILO Report entitled ‘Promoting safety and health in a green economy’, noted that the aim is to …make all jobs healthier and safer, while benefiting the environment and society, provided occupational risks are identified and managed at the onset”.

The importance of integrating social justice and human well-being with economic activities and environmental sustainability was highlighted in the 1987 Brundtland Report “Our Common Future”. That Report of the UN World Commission on Environment and development that informed discussions at the first “Earth Summit”, held in Rio, Brazil, noted the links between “...poverty, inequality and environmental degradation” and called for “a new era of economic growth ...that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable”.

The longstanding international political consensus that sustainable development has three integrated pillars – the social, the economic and the environmental, has not been translated into coherent policy and action. In the two decades since the first Rio Summit, the calls for an integrated approach to sustainable development have been gathering momentum. The Decent Work Agenda, with its focus on rights at work, employment, social protection and social dialogue, can contribute to that

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integrated approach in the quest for a “fairer, greener, more sustainable globalization”.

NGLS: In terms of both the Rio outcomes, which could include Sustainable Development Goals, and discussion on a post-2015 development framework, how could the ILO help to take forward a more inclusive rights-based approach that would also promote rights at work as human rights? What steps are being taken to include decent work as one of the core elements in these discussions?

Ms. Romero: The International Labour Office is supporting governments as well as employers’ and workers’ organizations of the Member States that make up the International Labour Organisation, in a number of processes aimed at promoting rights at work as Human Rights and Decent Work Agenda as part of the social pillar of Sustainable Development and the post 2015 international development framework. The following are illustrative.

DECENT WORK AGENDA

Within the United Nations System, the ILO is contributing to policy-oriented research and to knowledge products for use in preparatory policy dialogues in the run-up to Rio+20. In December 2011 the Environmental Management Group of the UN System produced a report entitled “Working towards a balanced and inclusive green economy: A United Nations System-wide Perspective.” The concept and aims of the Decent Work Agenda and the ILO’s Green Jobs Initiative are included in this Report, which highlights the importance of creating decent work in a low-carbon economy.

In addition to research, the Office provides tripartite constituents with policy advice and technical support, including for their advocacy initiatives. At the Ri0+20 Conference international organizations representing the ILO’s social partners (namely the International Organisation of Employers and the International Trade Union Confederation) will be co-hosting and or co-hosting side events that deal with green jobs, decent work and sustainable development, from various

perspectives. These organisations have been holding consultations with their members at the national and regional levels, running public on-line discussions and expressing their view in different fora. ILO has given various forms of support to these preparatory activities. At the conference itself, the ILO will lead a side panel on “Decent Work and Social Protection Floors for Sustainable Development” and it will co-host, with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), a side event on green jobs and youth employment. The tripartite constituents and other non-governmental stakeholders will be involved in these activities.

The UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination, of which the ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia is a member, issued an official statement in advance of Rio+20 which acknowledges that: “A number of priority issues have emerged which might serves as the basis for identifying sustainable development goals as Rio+20. Among these are: equity, poverty, decent jobs……..”

The ILO’s message is that sustainable development needs a strong pillar. The connection between the Decent Work Agenda and sustainable development has been made in the preparations for Rio+20, thereby laying a basis for Member States to propose, and lobby for, its inclusion in outcome documents of the Conference.

When it comes to preparations for defining the post-20-15 development framework, the ILO and its tripartite constituents are promoting Decent Work as a development goal to be integrated into any proposed framework. This is being done through dialogue and participation in the global thematic consultations and the national consultations that have begun as of the preparations.

The first global thematic consultation on “Growth, structural change and employment” was convened jointly by Japan, the ILO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in May 2012. Representatives of government, employers and workers organizations, together with a wide range of stakeholders engaged in policy dialogue and a vibrant exchange of views in Tokyo. The idea of anchoring

32 The Unionist

Decent Work in the future international development framework was discussed and there is evidence that it is gaining widespread support. The continued involvement of the ILO and its tripartite constituents in the global and national preparatory constitutions, as well as the contribution of the social partners (as non governmental members of the pos-2015 Outreach Planning Group), will help reinforce this message and the practice of engaging in dialogue and consultation at all levels, to set an agenda that would complement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In sum, the aim is to strengthen dialogue and participation, multi-stakeholder commitment and policy coherence for achieving sustainable development.

NGLS: what efforts on the part of the International Community are required in order to provide today’s youth with the necessary opportunities to find decent work, but also to thrive in a fairer, greener and more sustainable world?

Ms. Romero: The Challenge of creating opportunities for decent work for young persons has been on national and international agendas for decades. Indeed, the achievement of “full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people” is one of the targets of the first Millennium Development Goal which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Progress in this regard, has fallen below expectations in many countries.

Perhaps the greatest and most meaningful effort would be for stakeholders at the country, regional and international levels to give effect to the internationally agreed conclusion, recommendations and commitments that have been adopted. This would require either developing or scaling-up results-oriented youth employment initiatives. The issues of training and education for employment, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, support for innovative productive activities, and financing for enterprise creation, are among the many issues that have been addressed in various fora over the years. The subject of “youth employment” was on the agenda of the 2012 International Labour Conference.

The United National Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), at its High-Level Segment (July 212) will hold a development Cooperation Forum during which “Partnerships to tackle youth employment crisis” will be discussed. In the run-up to and during Rio+20 Conference, there will be a number of dialogues and events focusing on various aspects of youth and sustainable development – including matters related to employment.,

We must build on the momentum of Rio+20 and take action on the new and renewed commitments on youth employment that will come out of Rio and feed into the process of defining an international development agenda that goes beyond 2015.

“A THEOLOGY OF WORK” (Ulric Sealy – Principal, BWU Labour College)

Theology, the study of God and all that relates to him, seeks in its methods to understand the nature of God and human behaviour in relation to God. One commentator notes that it is for “doxology and devotion - the praise of God and the practice of godliness.”

Work is human activity through which persons earn their livelihoods. It is a defining feature of human existence, and an activity which affirms individuals’ identity. It gives a sense of purpose and importance, and facilitates human development. Also, work is often seen as a source of exploitation and frustration. This dichotomous reality begs a theological examination. Firstly, however, a reflection on aspects of human behaviour which impact work.

Human beings, mostly indoctrinated into some religious doctrine, socially work from theological principles like loving, reliability, conscientiousness, loyalty, effectiveness, efficiency, punctuality and innovativeness. But, persons tend to abandon these when transitioning to the workplace. Is the need to achieve socially and economically to be satisfied, even ahead of God’s wishes? Is there some workplace philosophical underpinning, only supporting competition, aggression, and survival of the fittest? Interestingly, sampled ‘corporate strategic values’ reveal a workplace yearning for theologically grounded principles.

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A “Theological examination” of ‘work’ must establish a God-relationship to work, demonstrating work as intended to be Godly - good, fulfilling and uplifting. Work is Godly: “the heavens and the earth were finished, .. God finished the work that he had done…” (Genesis 2:1-2); “God saw everything that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a); “God said ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:26-28); and “the LORD God planted a garden and there put the man… to till it ..” (Gen.2:8,15). Work is to be pleasant and creative, but selfishness has rendered it backbreaking toil. Putting our benefit ahead of God and the well-being of others offends God. At work, we should be guided by how we think of God and how we relate to God, manifested in a praising of God and practice of godliness” work culture.

God is to be praised: “O Praise the Lord, all ye nations... For his merciful kindness is great toward us ...” (Ps 117). Practice of Godliness is loving and obeying God: “love Him and our fellow humans” (Ex 20:1-17); “… do good, seek justice and rescue the oppressed,” (Isaiah 1:17), and “…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength”, and your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:28-34). This love is “the high esteem that God has for His human children and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people”. It is the “fruit of the Spirit of Jesus” in us, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23a). Qualities, identified by Jesus, include meekness/humility, pursuing righteousness/justice, being merciful/compassionate and being peacemakers.

Workers often complain that employers’ behaviour and practices seem bent on driving them to economic deprivation, ill-health, and social degradation. They identify these as layoffs, short-time, pressure for productivity, disregard for safety and health, disregard for human dignity, constantly threatening, ready to decry efforts, unforgiving, quick to discipline and denying decent wages and other conditions. Not Godliness, the ILO sees this as denying the workers “Decent Work”.

Decent work reflects productive work; fair income; workplace security; social protection; personal development; social integration; freedom of expression;

participation in decision – making, and equality of opportunity and treatment”. It is theologically grounded: “Woe to him ..; who makes his neighbours work for nothing, and does not give them their wages” [Jer. 22:13]; “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it…” [Prov.3: 27-28]; “Stop threatening servants, for … both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality” (Ephesians 6:9); “…grant to your servants justice and fairness”, (Colossians 4:1) and “.. if anyone is detected in a transgression, you … should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. …” (Galatians 6:1-2).

Employers purchase the workers’ labour and not the workers! Dehumanising treatment of the workers does not demonstrate God’s love, and depersonalising them is a precursor to treating unethically with them. The ILO reminds us that labour (workers) is not a commodity!

Workers are also to be admonished for their ‘lack of Godliness’ attitude. Many do not respect punctuality; are unproductive; malinger; claim undeserved sick leave; pilfer; malign co-workers and management; are uncooperative; lie; cheat, and are aggressively confrontational. Scripture admonishes: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might” (Eccles. 9:10); “Workers, obey your earthly masters …; not only while being watched, but as workers of Christ; Render service with enthusiasm, ..” (Eph. 6 : 5-7); “Tell servants to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to answer back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, … (Titus 2: 9-10), and “Remind them …, to be obedient, … ready for every good work, … speak evil of no one, … avoid quarrelling, … be gentle, and … show every courtesy to everyone…” (Titus 3:1-3). Not working is failing the faith: “whoever does not provide for relatives has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim 5:8). Workers must be industrious: “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise…” (Prov 6:6-11). Paul speaks against not working: “we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, ... such persons we command and exhort to do their work …” [2 Thess. 3:11-12].

The workplace, as God-centred and goodly persons, must show that decisions and actions indeed reflect the teachings and examples of Jesus.

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SUBSTITUTION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

The substitution of alternative energy sources for fossil fuel as an energy source is the area where Barbados can make substantial savings in foreign exchange spending.

To that end, the Barbados Workers’ Union is supportive of the major projects being contemplated which include a wind farm, a waste-to-energy plant, and the use of renewables such as bagasse. The Union is of the view that, notwithstanding the advances in solar generation there needs to be a greater emphasis on the use of solar energy for electricity generation, moving beyond heating use.

The Union has observed that while there are opportunities available to move the economy forward in the short term, there are some internally-driven challenges that, if not managed, will see Barbados lagging behind the rest of the world, when the recession receded, as it must.

BAJANS MUST EMBRACE A NEW OF THINKING

The Barbados Workers’ Union wants Barbadians to embrace a new way of thinking. The Union also believes that there may be a need to encourage consumption of local goods and services.

The Union argues that while to promote “Buy Bajan” may infringe World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations, there must be a method of containing spending on imported goods, thereby reducing the approximate 80 cents out of every dollar currently being spent on imported goods.

“This, according to the Union, “may require greater funding for entrepreneurial pursuits so that these locally produced products can be made economically, competently and can be comparative in terms of quality with imported ones”.

DON’T FORGET STRESS DURING RECESSION

Trade unions have called on the Health and Safety Executive and employers in Britain to make tackling stress a priority as British workers to try to cope with growing financial uncertainty. While the emphasis has been on pay freezes and job losses, unions have said that stress can have just as devastating effect. This follows new research by the University of Nottingham and University of Ulster which shows that work-related stress increases during a recession, leading to more employees taking time off.

A study among tens of thousands of civil servants in Northern Ireland revealed that work-related stress increased by 40% during an economic downturn. It also found that the number of staff taking time off due to job stress increased by 25% and total time off due to these types of psychological problems increased by more than a third during a slump.

The British Trade Union Congress Head of Health and Safety, Hugh Robertson said more attention has to be paid to the effects that cuts and economic hardship have on mental health of the workforce. The economic crisis does not give employers immunity from complying with the law and the government, and regulators should be taking action to ensure that employers are risk assessing the implications of any staffing or organizational changes.

Sarah Page, Health and Safety Officer at he Prospect Union, commented: “Whenever workers face reduced job security and an increased workload it is no surprise that depression and anxiety increase, along with absences from work. People feel afraid, uncertain, less supported by managers, and less in control of their lives.”

She said that previous studies of civil servants had shown that if organisational changes occurred without consulting and involving the workforce, the effects on individuals are far more damaging. This is an issue where government, employers and trade unions can make a difference by working together.

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Employers have a duty to ensure workers’ health, safety and welfare at work and that includes mental health. It should not be about trying to mop up the mess when it’s too late, but about introducing preventive measures and support networks”.

TUC Risks magazine 544, 25.02.12

EUROPE: STRESS IN THE

WORKPLACE TO RISE

Job related stress is a concern for the large majority of the workforce, a Europe-wide survey has found. The 2nd European Opinion Poll on Occupational safety and Health, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the European Agency for safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), measured the opinions of over 35, 00 members of the general public in 36 European countries. It found eight in ten (80%) of the working population across Europe think the number of people suffering from job-relayed stress over the next five years will increase, with over half (52%) expecting this to “increase a lot”. The poll found a large majority of Europeans (86%) agree that following good occupational safety and health practices is necessary for a country’s economic competitiveness, with 56 Per cent strongly agreeing. Views are similar among workers and those who do not work (86% and 85% agree respectively).

“The financial crisis and the changing work-related stress is making increased demands on workers, therefore it is unsurprising that work-related stress is at the forefront of people’s minds’, said Dr. Christina Sedlatschek, director of EU-OSHA. Regardless of age, gender and organisation size an overwhelming majority of people believe that work-related stress will rise”

Greeks were most concerned about rising stress, reflecting the country’s economic turmoil and echoing the findings of a European study last year that Greece had the largest increase in suicides.

TUC Risks magazine

Members of the Barbados Social Partnership singing hymns of praise at the Thanksgiving Service to mark the start of the 2012 Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ week, at the Nazarene Church, Collymore Rock, St. Michael. From (l-r) are: Phillip Bostic (BWU), the Minister of Tourism, The Honourable Richard Sealy, Senator Haynesley Benn, Mrs Benn, the Minister of Labour, Dr. the Honourable Esther Byer-Suckoo, BWU General Secretary, Senator Sir Roy Trotman, BWU President General, Comrade Linda Brooks and Director General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Mr. Hugh Riley.

BWU General Secretary, Senator Sir Roy Trotman (l) in conversation with Barbados’ newest knight, Reverend Dr. Sir Wesley Hall, at the close of the thanksgiving service to mark Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ week.

36 The Unionist

Information concerning this Publication should be addressed to:Bro. Orlando Scott Editor, The UnionistBarbados Workers’ Union, “Solidarity House”, Harmony Hall,St. Michael, Barbados

Tel: (246) 426-3492/5 • Fax: (246) 436-6496Email:bwu@caribsurf.com • Website:www.bwu.bb.org

Photos by Brooks / La Touche Printed by Panagraphix Inc.

Editor’s Notebook 1From the Desk of the General Secretary 3The BWU’s 71st Annual Delegates’ Conference 5Commemoration of the 1937 Disturbances 92012 Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ Week 15Negotiations Environment Difficult 16BWU Will Not Be Silenced 13Merely Intellectually Connected 19May Day 2012 In Pictures 20National HIV/AIDS Commission 22Leave the Sugar Lands Alone 23A True Volunteer Aging Actively 24BWU Good Host 25Mervyn says “Thank you” 26ILC - A Defining Moment for Labour 28The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service 30A Theology of Work 32Europe: Stress in the workplace 35

A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e B a r b a d o s Wo r k e r s ’ U n i o nW h e r e T h e r e I s N o V i s i o n T h e P e o p l e P e r i s hVol.18 No.13 2012

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A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e B a r b a d o s Wo r k e r s ’ U n i o nW h e r e T h e r e I s N o V i s i o n T h e P e o p l e P e r i s hVol.18 No.13 2012

See Page 4 & 9

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