The following presentation by Brian Nutt, president of the Bahamas Employers Confederation is well worth the read.

Following are Mr. Nutt’s opening and closing comments, reprinted with his kind permission.

TRIFOR Address presented by Brian Nutt 22nd October, 2007

Opening Remarks

On behalf of the employers of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Employers Confederation welcomes the opportunity presented by government’s re-launching of the Tripartite Forum known as TRIFOR to promote social dialog.

TRIFOR was originally launched in March of 2000, however it was short lived and did not continue beyond the second meeting in June of 2000. The major reason that the first attempt at TRIFOR did not succeed was due to the lack of trust among the three social partners; government, labour and employers.

Ironically it was the lack of social dialog prior to the first attempt at TRIFOR that resulted in its failure.

Here we are, seven years later, and like a phoenix on a pyre, from the ashes of the first TRIFOR this new TRIFOR is resurrected. There are a number of differences between then and now. A lot of social dialog has occurred during the last seven years. Tripartite discussions with the social partners have taken place on subjects ranging from trade liberalization, common markets, globalization, productivity and social partner protocols and memorandums of understanding. The biggest difference however was not the amount of tripartite discussions that took place; it was the amount of bipartite discussions that took place between employers and labour and the cooperation that resulted.

On the 17th of March, 2004, a bipartite meeting between the National Congress of Trade Unions, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Trade Union Congress, the Bahamas Employers Confederation, the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association, the Bahamas Hotel Association, and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce resulted in the formation of B.O.N.D. – the Bilateral Organization for National Development.

This entity was created to extent and widen the trust between capital and labour. It was discovered that we both have the same goal, a strong desire to produce a positive effect on the socio-economic climate in our nation, and we are willing to work towards achieving our goal. Although many of our views differ, we do have common ground and B.O.N.D. provides the focus on those common ground issues.

Some of the concrete examples of cooperation between unions and capital include the following:

The April, 2003 Report on “Trade Liberalization” by the Tourism Task Force comprised of the Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union along with the Bahamas Hotel Association, the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association, the Bahamas Tour Operators Association and the Nassau Tourism & Development Board.

The formation of the Coalition for Education Reform in 2005 comprised of the National Congress of Trade Unions and the Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union along with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, the Bahamas Employers Confederation, the Bahamas Hotel Association, the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association and the Nassau Tourism and Development Board.

The formation of the National Coalition for Health Care Reform in 2006 comprised of the National Congress of Trade Unions along with members from sixteen other organizations.

We are encouraged by our ability to cooperate on these matters of national importance. Other nations which have successfully addressed their national development concerns have often done so because of a recognition and commitment by unions and businesses that by working together they can have considerable influence over the national agenda. The Coalitions on Education Reform and Health Care Reform are both still alive and active.

Government can expect the united voice of employers and labour on these, and other issues, to grow in strength over the months and years to come.

This TRIFOR Conference was preceded by ten weekly tripartite meetings in the Board Room of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Labour. At the very beginning it was set out that one of the functions of TRIFOR would be to look at our existing labour legislation with the view towards recommending amendments. At this point I feel it is important to comment on the need of Bahamians in general, and specifically employers as well as employees and their representatives, to observe and have respect for all of our laws including our labour legislation. In the Preamble of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas it is recognized by the People that their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to, (among other things), the Rule of Law.

In order to truly commit ourselves to the Rule of Law, it is necessary to follow and observe all of our laws, which can be very difficult if the laws are not fair, equitable or economically sound. As an example, it is currently being reported by the media that it is proposed that the Juries Act be amended. This Act was amended last year to provide that employers pay their employees who are on jury duty during their normal hours of work, however there is no provision in last years amendment, nor the proposed amendment that is currently being debated, to require that employers be provided with information as to when their employees are to appear in court. This inequity in the Act has led to abuse.

It was determined by the tripartite committee that the Employment Act would be the first piece of labour legislation reviewed at TRIFOR. The Employment Act was enacted on the 1st of January, 2002 and since its enactment it has been amended once, in 2003. The amendment made was to the First Schedule which sets out the Employment of Children which originally stated that a child may be employed in the following undertakings; grocery packers, gift wrappers, peanut vendors and newspaper vendors. Added to this list in 2003 was that a child may be employed in any film as may be approved by the Minister. This amendment was made to legalize the child actors in the film “Into the Blue” which was filmed in The Bahamas.

The First Schedule of the Employment Act starts off with, “For a period of five years from the coming into operation of this Act…” This means that on January 1st of this year the First Schedule became void. A blind eye has been turned to the fact that from the beginning of this year it is illegal to employ a child in any category of work. If it is the intention of government to outlaw the employment of children please enforce the law. If government wants to allow children to be employed in the categories of work outlined in the First Schedule, please amend the Act to either extend for a further period of time the First Schedule, or remove the time limitation completely.

In addition to the weekly tripartite meetings leading up to TRIFOR, weekly meetings have been held by an employers working group at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce. The view taken by employers in determining proposed amendments to the Employment Act is to base the proposed amendments on clarity and equity. We recognize that benefits already enjoyed by employees cannot be eliminated or reduced without serious social, economic and political repercussions; therefore we are not recommending changes in the legislation that eliminate or reduce benefits to employees. On the other hand, we will vigorously oppose any recommendations that will increase employment costs. Our proposed amendments are recommended to make the Act clearer in order to avoid as much as possible interpretational issues at the Labour Tribunal and the Courts, or to make the Act more equitable and fair for not only for the employer, but for the employee as well.

One of the challenges presented by the Employment Act is that no reference is made to temporary employees, part time employees, seasonal employees, etc. In The Bahamas there is a broad spectrum of employment categories and remuneration systems. In light of global trade liberalization we need to ensure that our labour legislation does not box us in, preventing us from being able to respond to global competition. The labour laws of The Bahamas need to be clear and equitable, recognize the diversity of employment and remuneration systems in our nation, recognize that regional and global competition is a fact of twenty-first century life, promote harmonious industrial relations, and recognize the need for high levels of productivity.

Closing Remarks

In my opening remarks I stated that employers will vigorously oppose any recommendations that will increase employment costs. The fact is that our economy is in decline and it would be foolhardy to increase costs at this time. It has been recognized for many years that The Bahamas is a high priced tourist destination. The Report on Trade Liberalization by The Tourism Task Force produced in April, 2003, clearly showed the deteriorating state of our socio-economic environment. The report candidly addressed our country’s basic problems, i.e. low productivity, high costs, inefficiencies, ineffective education, crime, and a disregard of the Rule of Law. These basic problems are not only still affecting us; many of them have gotten worse.

When the Trade Liberalization Report was written our tourism industry was still expanding, however at that time our rate of growth was below the rate of growth of our Caribbean neighbors. We are now into our third year of tourism decline. It seems that almost daily we are bombarded with news that shows the fragility of our economic environment. Some examples are cruise ships leaving Freeport; Mega cruise ships soon to come on stream that will not be able to dock in New Providence because our harbour is too shallow; a decline in business in our financial services sector; Royal Bank of Canada moving its regional headquarters out of The Bahamas; the Bacardi plant shutting down in The Bahamas; stores closing on Bay Street; and a decline in the number of local companies listed with the Registrar General’s Office.

Although the Tourism Task Force report pointed out the vulnerability of our economy, nothing was done to mitigate the possible fallout. Why, you might ask? We can point to Barbados as a shining example of an economy based on productivity initiatives and incentives due to the Barbados National Productivity Council and their Protocols. Why don’t we emulate them? The reason we haven’t is due to the fact that we Bahamians are too comfortable with our way of life to be willing to undergo radical change.

The Barbados productivity phenomenon was not the result of reasoned decision and sacrifices to make a good life better. The economy of Barbados was in ruins and the International Monetary Fund was poised to step in and place Barbados in economic servitude. Those desperate times required desperate measures. Barbadians sacrificed by imposing national wage and price freezes while they hammered out a productivity protocol that radically changed their economic foundation, thereby avoiding the anguish of economic servitude.

In an August, 2003 BECon News Bulletin I wrote about the urban legend that if you drop a live frog into a pot of boiling water he will, by reflex action, jump right out; but if you drop him into water of a comfortable temperature and turn up the heat, he will sit there until he boils to death, becoming frog soup. This analogy is used to show the consequences of failing to recognize and react to slow, incremental changes in an environment. I continued by stating that Bahamians are in danger of becoming frog soup. The socio-economic environment around us is slowly deteriorating, and we are failing to recognize that fact, and react to it. In the four years since that article was written the water has become a great deal hotter.

In 2005 and again just last month, the Coalition for Education Reform, the joint business-labour union collaboration, issued reports on the critical state of our nation’s Education system. The Coalition not only conducted extensive analysis, but recommended positive reform strategies, drawing upon what is working well in The Bahamas, Barbados and elsewhere around the globe. With the previous government, as well as with the present Government, there has been dead silence to the extended hand from this Coalition, perhaps because they have yet to realize that we are key stakeholders in our nation’s education system. Barbados and Ireland are but two countries that have proven when labour and management come to the table to help they have made a major difference in their nations.

Due to the fact that labour and employers are quite far apart in coming to a consensus on recommended amendments to the Employment Act, this first TRIFOR meeting has focused on each of the social partners presenting their views. This TRIFOR is not the end, it is the beginning. Tripartite meetings at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Labour will resume next week with the goal of reaching consensus.

Unfortunately there is a great deal of apathy in The Bahamas and the pool of employers who have contributed to the proposed amendments has been relatively small. A number of employers who registered for this TRIFOR Conference are not members of either the Bahamas Employers Confederation or the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce. Please join at least one of these organizations, or ideally both. The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Bahamas Employers Confederation are the only two national lobby organizations whose membership is open to all businesses and employers, regardless of which sector of the economy your business is in. Let your voice be heard as any amendments to labour legislation will affect all of us.

Read the entire presentation incorporating the details of the points raised by BeCon on behalf of employers here…

If there is one negative, the work is based on the fact that government has all the power and employers have to work with it. This seems an impractical approach to writing legislation.

While it might take longer, the parties should come together before legislation is written. The government should not write the legislation and then expect everyone to fall in line and then force it through Parliament in the hope that everyone will accept it without objection.

One thing is certain. The more we engage the government to micromanage our employment contracts, the more rigid the market becomes, and in those circumstances history proves no one is better off.

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