Trade unions under threat

The trade union movement is needed now more than ever.

That’s according to President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union, Mary-Anne Redman. Her comments came yesterday as she delivered fraternal greetings at the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) 76th Annual Delegates Conference at Solidarity House.

“As a trade unionist in this country, I would venture to say that since 1937 there has never been a time more evident that the future wants and needs [us]. Brothers and sisters we are operating at a time in our history when as a country we are faced with, not necessarily new challenges, but challenges that are unprecedented in the depth and to the extent to which they presently exist. Challenges that in their confluence, and within the existing climate, are potentially devastating for this country,” she said.

Redman said that Barbados now finds itself locked in untenable economic circumstances that potentially threaten to reverse too many of the economic and social gains that this country has made since the riots of 1937. She explained that the trade icons which were created out of those initial dark days have never faced as many threats to their continued existence and survival than they do now.

“After 50 years of independence so proudly celebrated last year, our present is one where trade unions have never been so aggressively attacked, never before dismissed and insulted as being noise makers, vagabonds, enemies of the state or having to be fearful of threats of cracked heads and shot people. Our present is one plagued by a scorn of and intolerance to dissenting views. It is a present in which the tradition of mutually respectful dialogue and consultation, conversation and negotiation have been replaced by public insult, hindrance and ignore-rance, a new verb meaning to purposely and actively ignore,” she said.

The union boss maintained that never before has it been so difficult for trade unions to get simple responses to correspondence on any matters from Government, and to get meetings that have been requested to encourage dialogue and consultation as was envisaged with the creation of the Social Partnership.

“Ironically it took the actions of 20 000 people to establish a system geared towards mutually respectful dialogue, consultation, engagement and partnership, only for 30 000 people, 26 years later to have to march to enforce these same tenets. That march has not stopped. Intentional silence should not be misinterpreted for anything else. Last time these unions went silent that silence was borne by 30 000 voices,” Redman affirmed.

Her remarks came as she said that in the face of blatant and repeated threats to job security, workers are being pressured increasingly to improve levels of productivity in an effort to pull the country out of its “economic doldrums”. But she said workers are operating in an atmosphere of fear and that fear, the BSTU president lamented, prevents them from speaking up and speaking out and from associating with and actively supporting unions.

“Along with the increased expectations placed on them, come threats of non-renewal of contracts; outright dismissal, many wrongfully or unfairly done too; and docking of pay as a result of exercising their rights under ILO Conventions 87 and 98, ratified by our Government and reflected in our domestic law. We have never operated in such times of open threats to labour. The blatant attempts at union busting and victimisation are unprecedented. That is our present,” she cried. (JRT)