EDITORIAL - Proposed new law welcome
Reports that Barbados is soon set to have workplace sexual harassment legislation on the statute books are indeed heartening.
This piece of legislation dubbed the Employment Sexual Harassment (Prevention) Bill, which is expected to originate in the Senate as opposed to the House of Assembly, has long been talked about, and to know now that it is mere days from being debated, and hopefully just weeks before being proclaimed and made law, is something that should be commended. We are optimistic that it will not take too long to become the law of the land, but we well remember the Safety and Health at Work Act, which while passed in 2005, did not come on stream until 2013. We trust that this new Bill will not suffer the same fate.
Before now, successive administrations have failed to get such legislation on the statute books and our workers have been the worse for it. They have no recourse at all should they find themselves in a position where they are being sexually harassed by a colleague, supervisor, manager, client or even employer. Now we are being assured by the Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, that the proposed law – which is not gender specific – will equally protect women and men in both the public and private sectors, against unwanted sexual advances.
Indeed, it is also hoped that the legislation takes into consideration the digital era that we currently live in, and protects workers against any sort of sexual harassment, including advances made via the use of text messages, emails and via social media outlets like Whatsapp and Facebook. A look at the draft Bill suggests that this has been done, but it is hoped that the wording is not too vague, allowing it to be used by skilled attorneys to help their clients avoid being held accountable for their actions. We hope too that it adequately speaks to situations where a person is denied a promotion or benefit, or perhaps is even demoted, for rejecting sexual advances. The fact is, things like that do take place in workplaces across the length and breadth of this country, and it is imperative that all are made to understand that it is not appropriate and is not to be accepted.
As we understand it, the Bill also speaks to companies creating clear written policy statements against sexual harassment within six months of the commencement of the Act and presenting them to every employee. It is certainly hoped that companies take this stipulation seriously and that the Ministry of Labour, through the Labour Department, checks to ensure that they do. To think that they would not abide by this provision is not farfetched.
To draw on the Safety and Health at Work Act again, many businesses waited until the legislation officially became law on January 1, 2013 to start getting things in place, and to this day there are still some which have not done any of the things outlined in the legislation. That is definitely not the fate one wants for the Employment Sexual Harassment (Prevention) Bill. The call therefore is for the authorities to be more vigilant, so as to ensure that the laws are adhered to and people are protected.
Given too that the Bill could be debated as early as next Wednesday, we think that the Ministry of Labour should already be rolling out an awareness campaign to inform the public at large, the business community, the trade unions and the workers, about what it entails. Yes, when Minister Byer Suckoo introduces the Bill, she will outline much of that, and the various media houses will carry the stories; but not everyone will listen to the debate or read, watch or even listen to the news. So it is vitally important that the Ministry makes the effort to reach those who will fall into that category.