BWU Annual Delegates Conference set for next Saturday

After being postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) is set to hold its 79th Annual Delegates Conference next Saturday, and high on its agenda will be safeguarding the vulnerable workers in this country, the matter of COVID-19 testing and vaccines, and examining the issue of remote work.

Word of this came from General Secretary of the BWU Toni Moore in a statement released to the media yesterday, in which she revealed that with the pandemic not yet behind us, the BWU will host this year’s conference at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on Saturday instead of their Solidarity House headquarters.

According to Moore, the conference will be held under the theme ‘The Time is Now’, and will examine several of the issues that the Union has been addressing as efforts have been made to “gain advances” for the workers of this country.

“At the very least, the BWU has been solid in its fight to maintain industrial relations principles, standards and agreements during the period. In addition to a discussion of the Executive Council’s report, the conference will be revisiting a number of the demands we have made over time within the context of the changes which are taking place in the labour market globally, and within Barbados specifically. As such, we will be revisiting our demands relative to safeguarding the vulnerable, recognising that beyond the introduction of a national minimum wage, which took effect in April this year and which was championed by this Union, we also have to ensure that more is done for all categories of workers to have effective terms and conditions,” she maintained.

In that vein, she suggested that a case must be made for gas station workers who, while they can now be paid minimum wage, are at risk because of the nature of their jobs. The General Secretary said that these workers should have coverage for the “predictable and the unpredictable hazards” which can be linked to the very important work they do.

She continued, “A similar case can be made for security workers, hospitality workers, workers in the domestic area and others as well. The conference will also be examining the issue of remote work and a need to streamline policies related to working from home that take into account a number of factors including health and safety, liability, burnout, work life balance and access to a person’s home, within the context of labour administration”.

On the matter of the COVID-19 vaccine and testing, Moore said that they anticipate there will be “keen interest and participation”. Her comments came as she said that the Executive Council has “consciously reserved becoming heavily involved in the public discourse” on this issue, stating that they anticipate meaningful discussion at the level of the highest decision-making body of the BWU, the Annual Conference.

“As would be imagined, the BWU represents workers with strong views that are choice based and rights based, on different sides of the argument, and all views must and will contend,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said that President General, Linda Brooks, who has served on the Executive Council for some 29 years and has been the President General running unopposed for the past 13 years, has signalled her intention not stand for election again.  She indicated that Shawn Knight who has served as vice president for the past eight years, is expected to be elected unopposed.