Reviewed social partnership needed
There is a need for a reviewed social partnership.
This is call being made by the General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore who delivered remarks at the opening ceremony for the Week of Excellence 2018 held under the theme of ‘Productivity: The Heart of Our Future’ yesterday at the Grand Salle.
She stated that this island did in fact embark on a journey to productivity 25 years ago and the social partnership was formulated to help to achieve this goal of enhanced productivity.
“I draw your attention to the fact that as a country, Barbados embarked on a productivity pathway some 25 years ago and that pathway was embarked upon when our country was in crisis. The social partnership was formalized and was energetic and fresh and regarded productivity as a foremost rescue for an economy that was challenged and as a more suited emergency response for many of the labour management challenges which were being experienced.”
However, there is also the necessity to ensure that everyone in society benefits and it is in this regard that a reviewed social partnership must be formulated, said Moore.
“We desperately need a reviewed social partnership between employers, workers and Government. For Barbados has experienced firsthand how a functioning social partnership has yielded significant productivity benefits as well as less confrontational workplace relations.”
She stated that the BWU therefore supports the theme chosen for this year’s Week of Excellence because it speaks to productivity as an attainable goal if all stakeholders coordinate. This would call for an action plan and not merely talk.
“My executive council of the Barbados Workers’ Union supports this theme because we maintain and believe that productivity growth is still possible if we can face the challenge of improving our productivity together. The chosen theme recognizes as well that at the heart of a productive economy, must be an action plan, not merely a discourse about the future, specifically the future of work where the focus seeks to balance and embrace new technology with the upscaling of the workforce, but to achieve productivity growth, our people must have confidence in our economy being able to make the best use of its resources to ensure that the benefit of growth are spread across the entire society.”
She said that the BWU believes that such a partnership would result in major advantages.
“The BWU still believes that the social partnership, where if it is allowed to function, can yield significant benefits. However, the challenge remains how we can break down the blockade which has emerged to enable Government and the partners to easily and meaningfully engage again so that Barbados can once again emerge as a small country that is a shining example of how a partnership can work to do these things.”