Whither Trade Unions In Barbados?

Submitted by BU’s most famous Anonymous family member

Recent developments across the globe and here home in Barbados have made it necessary for one to ask the question:

Has the central role of the trade unions in Barbados changed ? and; Who is really looking out for the basic rights of the workers?

News coming out of Britain and the United states have revealed a growing protectionist mode being adopted by the recently elected Barack Obama and Gordon Brown of the USA and Britain. In Britain the phrase British jobs for British workers has been uttered by British Prime Minister Brown first at his party convention, and then repeated again and again in public.

While in the USA President Obama is openly pushing a Buy American First slogan with his new stimulus plan. America’s money he says must be used to create American jobs. Interestingly both responses go against signed declarations by the respective countries; in the case of the U.K, – the EU Treaty of Freedom of Movement of Labour, and the WTO agreements on Globalisation and open markets of which the USA is a signatory. In both of these countries the workers have had the strong and public support of their trade unions and national strikes are now on the cards in Britain.

In Jamaica we see a similar step being taken by the union there – a strong challenge to government on the matter of immigrant labour,similarly in St Lucia with the government there taking the lead,and in Trinidad where their Construction group cried out against foreign companies getting contracts (namely the Chinese) and using foreign workers.