Trade unions urged to adapt to modern workforce
Barbados’ labour movement needs to take a fresh guard with a focus that includes younger professionals in leadership positions and a strategic plan.
These were among the key points made during a panel discussion recently organised by the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) at Combermere School.
Dr Kristina Hinds, senior lecturer in political science at The University of the West Indies (UWI), suggested that the topic of trade union development needed to be defined at a time when Barbados has been moving from one crisis to another.
“What do you mean by development?” she enquired, adding Barbados has a dependence on the fate of global economies.
“The workers have to have a role in what is development,” she stated.
The former Senator said the question also needed to be asked, whether the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados was “relevant for the times”. “It cannot be taken lightly,” she argued.
Industrial relations consultant and former permanent secretary Elsworth Young called for a team of experts with organisational, management and technical skills to be invited to design a strategic plan for the labour organisation.
There was a “skills deficiency with the secretariat” at the leadership level, he contended. “A small team should conduct a critical analysis of the role and function of the organisation in the prevailing environment and recommend urgent needs,” Young said.
Young urged CTUSAB to strengthen its public relations capacity, provide fortnightly releases with workers’ education about the history of the trade union movement in the Caribbean and “win the hearts and minds of the workers”.
Hinds suggested a younger generation of workers was not very interested in history while nurse consultant Kathleen Brathwaite agreed on an active social media presence and utilisation of communication media based on identifying the needs of a young workforce.
“I still think that CTUSAB has a role to play, Brathwaite said. She said the question needed to be answered, “What is CTUSAB offering?”
Brathwaite said in 2022 there were 124 800 employees in the public and private sector. The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), however, had 5 400 financial members.
She said workers see unions as outdated, self-serving, or ineffective with archaic leadership which remained hierarchical and resistant to change.
“The traditional confrontational model no longer aligns with modern workforce needs,” she remarked.
“Trade unionism must move beyond historical representation and reposition itself as a collaborative force that architects sustainable workplace solutions. Instead of just reacting to injustices, unions should become partners in shaping workforce policies, well-being, and economic development,” Brathwaite said.
Hinds said attention should be paid to matters related to sexuality which came up in the workforce as well as violence within the workplace.
Moderator Dr Derek Alleyne said trade unions have been focused on domestic violence. Additionally, there has been training for front desk employees and in sign language: “We have not done enough. We do need to do more.” CTUSAB president Ryan Phillips agreed, saying “We need to change the way we do business. (HH)
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