EDITORIAL: Paradigm shift required
ON Tuesday in the House of Assembly, several members of the Lower House during the debate, made calls for some polyclinics to operate on a 24-hour basis. As we listened to these calls, one could not but recognise the expanded role that such facilities can play in our society, if they operated around the clock or at least had extended opening hours. If more polyclinics opened longer, it could help to take the burden off the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, allowing persons who may not necessarily be classified as emergencies but require medical treatment of some kind, to still be able to access it as needed and not at astronomical prices.
This idea of polyclinics opening on a 24-hour basis made us think too that in general, the time is ripe for Barbados to become a 24/7 society. This is a view often expressed by Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, who consistently says that the days of considering a normal work day being from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. must become a thing of the past. We also agree with him, that should both the public and private sectors in Barbados go the route of operating 24/7 and introduce staggered work hours to achieve this, our country would be poised to become a more dynamic and productive society.
However, he is not the only one who has argued that there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way in which Barbados operates, particularly as it relates to hours of work. For many, it is inconceivable that most local businesses still operate 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on weekdays, and while some open on weekends, they favour Saturdays and close early. But this unfortunate reality sees reduced productivity across the system, especially where employees who work Monday to Friday, in both the public and private sectors, are forced to conduct personal business on work time, because what they need to do cannot be done on weekends. Perhaps a first step for public sector entities would be to open their offices, particularly those like the Barbados Revenue Authority, the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office and the Licensing Authority, at least one or two Saturdays each month. Now that may get pushback from the trade unions, but given that it can improve the way we do business in this country, it should be considered.
There can be no denying that Government entities and the private sector need to have more flexible working hours. But where they cannot have a physical presence, we think it imperative that they seek to ensure that persons can conduct more business online. Too many companies in this country, large and small, do not have an online presence; far less are making use of e-commerce. In this day and age, no one should be forced to go and stand in a line to pay Government taxes; with the click of a button, they should be able to pay it online or they should be able to make purchases online for clothing, furniture, etc. In that vein, those sites should always be up and running because being offline, even if only for an hour, will not be acceptable.
Now, Government took the first steps to take Barbados towards operating around the clock when it introduced and passed the Shops Act two years ago, which allows shops to open between 7 a.m. on Mondays right through to 10 p.m. on Sundays. It would seem, however, that while some companies have made use of the provision, many have not. Government may have to think about offering incentives to get more businesses to come on board as it could help to provide a much-needed boost to the economy.