BWU again flags misuse of contract jobs

The Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) continues to express concerns about employers increasingly using temporary contracts for jobs that are clearly ongoing, arguing that such practices undermine workers’ entitlements.

General secretary Toni Moore raised the issue at the opening of the union’s Safety 360 Conference yesterday, at its headquarters, Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St Michael. She said contract workers often felt excluded from protections guaranteed under occupational health and safety laws.

“Health and safety does not differentiate between whether a worker is on contract or permanent. Health and safety laws are for all workers. I think that what happens is that oftentimes workers, because they feel a certain measure of insecurity, they feel that coverage is not available to them,” she stated.

“In too many instances workers are being brought into short-term situations where it is known and understood that functions are needed in an ongoing way. It is also our preoccupation because too often it is being used to circumvent obligations on the social security and legal benefits that permanent workers are entitled to.”

Moore, who is also a Government backbencher in the House of Assembly, said the matter was being pursued at the policy level, revealing she has already taken steps in Parliament to address the gap in protection.

“I laid a Private Member’s Resolution on portable benefits that would mean that whether you are on contract or not, . . . social security benefits should portend for you as well,” she said, pointing out that the union was seeking to bring contract workers “into more formal arrangements” and end practices that denied them benefits. “This whole idea that companies can decide that they don’t want to call you formal just to avoid paying what you are entitled to should become a thing of the past,” Moore added, stressing that as the BWU approaches its 85th anniversary, protecting all categories of workers remained a priority. The general secretary also highlighted broader challenges facing workers, linking them to the conference theme: Mind, Body And Work In Balance.

“These pressures show up in our minds through burnout, anxiety and emotional fatigue, but they also show up in the body through chronic illness and preventable injuries,” she said, pointing to increased workloads, cost-of-living pressures and technological changes as contributing factors.

She said the union’s focus has always been on the total well-being of workers, not just their conditions on the job.

“From the very beginning, our movement fought for safe workplaces and humane conditions, not just in the workplace, but the worker as a whole. Our mission is to improve the well-being of workers and that speaks to workers in their real lives.”

The two-day Safety 360 Conference continues with sessions focused on mental wellness, workplace safety systems and strategies aimed at improving overall worker well-being.

Also addressing the conference, Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan said stress continues to affect workers across all aspects of life, making the focus on mental health especially relevant.

“We live in a world where there are stresses and stressors all around in our homes, in our communities and in workplaces. It is not only bosses or supervisors that stress you, sometimes fellow workers stress you,” he said.

Jordan noted that productivity could not be separated from overall wellness, warning that neglecting mental and emotional health would limit both individual and national performance.

“We cannot be fully productive if we are not well. We cannot be fully productive if we are only physically well but not mentally well, not emotionally well, not spiritually well. We will never reach our full potential if attention is not paid to all dimensions of wellness,” he said.

The minister also stated that technology had extended workplace pressures beyond physical offices.

“Work is not just confined to a place. Technology causes us to sometimes feel mentally drained outside of a workplace and that is why achieving balance between mind, body and work becomes very important,” he stressed.

Calling for a more people-centred approach, he said workers must be treated as human beings with complex needs.

“When a person goes to a workplace, that person is not a machine. That person is a human being, bringing mental, emotional and spiritual components to the world of work.”

Several members of various health and safety committees turned out at Solidarity House for the annual BWU Safety 360 conference.

(Pictures by Reco Moore.)

BWU general secretary Toni Moore raising the issue of short-term contracts.