From the backbench of the House of Assembly, General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Toni Moore on Tuesday blasted an apparent slowing of momentum behind raising the national minimum wage, saying that the minimum wage board has not met in the last three years.
As Moore, the St George North MP, spoke on the Labour Clauses (Concessions) Bill, she said the increase in the minimum wage to $8.50 in April 2021 was a notable achievement but only a first step, and that despite the existence of a minimum wage board, no progress has been made in the last three years.
“While it represented an important first step… $8.50 was not good enough. It saddens me that three years on, April 1st would be three years that the minimum wage board has not met once to correct that minimum, and bring that minimum closer to a point where we could feel proud that the thunderous applause we gave when that was passed, is something that we would continue to make good on,” she said.
“The minimum wage has to be fixed. It was not good enough at $8.50 back in 2021, but it was recognised as a start. In 2024, the signal comes that if the minimum wage board can’t meet for whatever reason, dismantle that and get a fresh minimum wage board that will deliver for the workers of this country.”
Expressing strong support for the Labour Clauses (Concessions) Bill, she pointed to ingrained issues in many industries, particularly hospitality, that appear to have been inherited historically from the sugar industry, which, by most measures, put undue strain on its workers and frequently left them on the verge of poverty.
She said: “Despite our strides, despite all the efforts that we have made or taken to ensure that workers continue to benefit from the sweat of their labour, despite all the efforts that have been made to ensure that the ripple effects of colonial servitude are not continually felt by those who give themselves to making this country better. Despite all of that, we would hear the criticism of those who don’t look like how Massa used to look when sugar was king, but who look like most of us in [the House].
“If we get into the essence of this debate, it becomes critical to articulate the multifaceted challenges that our workers, especially those in the hotel sector, face on a daily basis. These are not isolated incidents, but systemic issues.”
Over the last several months, the BWU general secretary has accused the hotel industry of unfair treatment of workers, even as hotels received a high number of concessions from the government.
She said in Parliament on Tuesday: “The Bill that we are debating is not just a legislative proposal, it is the embodiment of our commitment to workers in Barbados. With the passage of this Bill, all of us are setting a national example as legislators to our commitment to decent work, [and] fair labour practices, specifically in managing those relationships with the private sector, where public spending – or, put another way, taxpayers’ monies, are involved.” (SB)
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