The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) said Monday it was not consulted on the government’s new Economic Diversification and Growth Fund Bill and is warning that Barbadians could miss out on quality jobs to foreign workers, unless clearer safeguards are put in place.
The umbrella labour body called for more transparency from the government on the quality and accessibility of jobs expected under the bill.
General Secretary of CTUSAB, Dennis De Peiza, revealed that the union had not been consulted on the legislation and had no discussion through the Social Partnership — the tripartite grouping of business, labour and government interests.
He said: “We’re not aware of the legislation. It has never been brought to us in any forum. We have never had any discussion at the level of social partnership. So we are very unaware of what is the intent.”
If the bill does, in fact, bring jobs to Barbadians, the union is in support of it, he added.
“Nobody criticises that intention, providing the jobs are meant for Barbadians, because if you are going to have investors who come to invest in Barbadians, I would like to think that they’re going to be bringing jobs that will be able to absorb Barbadian labourers in all forms,” De Peiza said.
He questioned whether these jobs might be out of reach for locals and stressed the need for quality employment.
“Would there have been importational levels? Would those investors be paying, or would their stipulations determine that there must be a ratio of 60/40? We have to be awfully mindful of the fact that we want to provide quality jobs for Barbadians.”
De Peiza also expressed concern that high-quality jobs may be filled by international workers instead of locals.
“I would hope that the intention is not to bring jobs that are based at an entry level, and that would be a problem. If these jobs are opened up and there are jobs of a higher quality, we can assume that the floodgates of persons outside, not only from the Caribbean but maybe from other countries, could fill positions while our Barbadians sit and watch.”
The CTUSAB general secretary stressed the need for sustainable, quality employment rather than short-term or menial work.
“If we are performing the skill and we’re just going to be involved in menial labour, then we really and truly have a problem. Yes, we want everybody to be employed, but we still want to have jobs that are sustainable, quality jobs and sustainable jobs.”
He called for detailed information on the type and duration of investments to assess their impact.
“So let’s get a very clear picture of what type of investment is happening, whether these things are short-term or for a couple of months or weeks, we don’t know the nature of them. All those details have to be spelt out to give us a level of comfort that we’re going to be satisfying the employment needs of Barbadians.”
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressed the nation, following public concerns and feelings of mistrust over the bill. She said it was her responsibility to explain the legislation clearly and reassure Barbadians, noting that it is designed to protect and grow jobs, boost investment and expand the economy.
“No investment or support will be given to any foreign company that does not significantly expand employment in Barbados. The bill speaks of at least 100 jobs being created to be eligible, and indeed, they must also earn foreign exchange above certain thresholds,” Mottley said. (LG)
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