Social Partnership needs to be bolstered
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Michael Carrington, is adamant that the much touted Social Partnership needs to be strengthened.
He made the suggestion as he delivered the Astor B. Watts Lunchtime Lecture at the Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters yesterday, as he lamented that the mutual respect and trust that existed among the three members presently does not exist. He argued that the only way to restore that trust is by transparency and order, which he further contended can only be achieved if the tripartite grouping of government, labour and capital, is made stronger.
With that in mind, Carrington, an attorney-at-law, put forward the idea that the Social Partnership needs to be placed on “a firm legal foundation”, with a public funded secretariat and clearly defined rules and procedures. In essence, the Speaker maintained, the Social Partnership must be properly enshrined in our law.
“That has to be so going forward,” he told those gathered.
His comments came as he maintained that contrary to what some may think, the Social Partnership is not dead. With that in mind, he put a case for the group not to be dismantled, pointing out that it has served this country well in the past and still has work to do. Speaking on the topic ‘After Barrow, What?’ Carrington said that thanks to the foundation laid by the Barrow Era, Barbados was fortunate that it could form an alliance like the Social Partnership and should hold its establishment dear.
“The fact is though, having formed it, we have to make proper use of it, but there are challenges. Serious questions are being asked of all three components of the Social Partnership. Government is being asked – Are your policies working? Can you really pilot the ship of state out of this economic conundrum?
Employee organisations have to answer questions like these from its members - Are you giving us effective representation or should we stop paying dues to you and cease membership? Don’t you know that we really need a pay increase? Owners of capital must face questions like these – Aren’t you a big part of the problem by putting the prices of goods and services so high? Can you not help by absorbing more of the NSRL rather than passing it on to the consumer? Is it really fair for government to take all the risks while you reap the benefits?” he stated.
Carrington noted that there is also quite a bit of suspicion between the parties, as there has been concern raised that capital is manipulating labour; labour is acting as a pressure group and Government is said to be reluctant to take capital and labour into its confidence, and appears reluctant to meet and discuss. All this, he maintained, has to be addressed. He contended that whether the reluctance is real or perceived, due to miscommunication or misinformation, the damage has already been done, and that is what, he maintained, is the country must work on fixing. (JRT)