Sir Frank: Strengthen Social Partnership
A research facility needs to be set up within the tripartite Social Partnership structure tasked with examining the issues that are “most on their minds”.
That’s the view of Sir Frank Alleyne, economist and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, who is adamant that such a mechanism is “absolutely necessary”.
“They are still too reliant on Government for information and you know how the system works, the Government will put its interests first. So I’m saying what I would love to see is that independent research facility answering to the private segment of the Social Partnership, taking instruction from them as to the research which is needed to be done,” he added.
His comments came yesterday as he spoke as part of a panel on a radio show, as he expressed concern that the Social Partnership was losing its footing and questioned what can be done to repair it.
“I think that it is most unfortunate that the country, which gave birth to the Social Partnership, is now faced with a situation in which the Partnership is not functional… I see it as a fractured Social Partnership. Remember when the Barbados Workers’ Union, under Sir Roy Trotman, withdrew the Barbados Workers’ Union from CTUSAB [Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados]. CTUSAB spoke in the Social Partnership on behalf of all the labour, now you have them scattered,” he indicated.
One of the hot topics on the programme was today’s planned joint march by the Barbados Private Sector Association, the Barbados Union of Teachers, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union, the Barbados Workers’ Union and the National Union of Public Workers, which is scheduled to move off from Queen’s Park at 10 a.m. However, the economist has taken issue with the march, suggesting that the planned action by the unions and the private sector players is seeking to undermine the legitimate government. With that in mind, he voiced his concern that today’s event has the potential to cause social unrest in the country, if not properly controlled.
“The only body in Barbados that has the authority, the legal authority to determine what goes into a Budget is the Cabinet and the Chairman is critical. What I’m seeing is a negotiation of what should be in a Budget. Anybody who questions that and says no you can’t determine a Budget unless I agree to it, that is undermining the role of Cabinet Government. Only Cabinet can decide that. Cabinet, yes you can listen to different groups and so on, but in the final analysis the Cabinet has to make that final determination it must not negotiate it,” he contended.
Sir Frank further contended that rather than the “rush to judgement on the streets of the country”; he believes that a meeting of the full Social Partnership should have taken place first. During yesterday’s programme, it was indicated that such a meeting is scheduled to take place.
“Barbados in 2017 is not Barbados when the telephone company marched… The potential for social unrest in Barbados today is fundamentally greater than the telephone company strike… We have to be careful that if we decide that we have to pull people on the road to march, you might find you can’t manage the outcome of that march. That is one of my fears.”
Adding to his comments, Dr. Akhentoolove Corbin, lecturer in Management at the University of the West Indies and Chairman of the National Productivity Council, another of the panellists on the programme, warning that the world still looks at Barbados as a model of excellence as it relates to the Social Partnership, contended that there is a need for dialogue among the three members of that grouping. In fact, Dr. Corbin pointing to the essential role that the Social Partnership has to play in this country, maintained that it needs to be looked at seriously with a view of helping it to become much more functional. (JRT)