CTUSAB CONCERNED ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT ND THE LINK TO CRIME

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) has called for a reset and reemphasis on creating sustainable and equitable employment opportunities to address rising crime and the escalating cost of living.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, CTUSAB General Secretary Dennis de Peiza expressed concern about the apparent connection between unemployment, underemployment, and the increase in violent crimes, even as official data indicates an unemployment rate of seven percent.
De Peiza questioned whether this statistic accurately reflects the reality, particularly for young people. He pointed to the prevalence of temporary, short-term, or casual employment among the youth, often accompanied by wages that fall below acceptable standards for decent work.
“It would appear that many young persons are not employed, or are employed on a temporary or short-term basis, or engaged in casual work,” he noted. “Moreover, the fact that they are paid substandard wages falls far from what is acceptable under the provision of decent work, and therefore jobs on offer may not appear to be attractive to this age group. If this is what prevails, then it is more than likely a real contributing factor to the social deviance and criminal activity which is being experienced.”
He emphasized that while numerous large-scale projects have been promised to commence on the island, it is crucial to ensure that the resulting job opportunities are prioritized for local workers rather than foreign labour.
“A lot of the plans and promises of projects to come on stream, we have to ensure that those things happen. But when we do that, we have to make sure that there are jobs for Barbadians. This whole thing of importing a whole lot of people from all over the place… it seems to me that we always want to import workers and claim that there are no Barbadians fit for the job. If we start that practice, then we are going to have a problem.”