Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley wants to see greater capacity building in negotiations so that the skills of industrial relations practitioners can be further enhanced on behalf of their constituents.
She made the assertion during a recent courtesy call with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Director General, Gilbert Houngbo, at Ilaro Court.
Ms. Mottley proffered that the development of a modern Barbados was “inextricably intertwined” with the labour movement.
The Prime Minister stressed that labour negotiation must be seen as an art and practitioners needed to know how to do so effectively, pointing out that “the more people know how to negotiate and what is good and bad negotiations on all sides, the quicker we are able to get a resolution”.
Ms. Mottley added: “I do not get flustered by the language … by the sentiment or by the aggression sometimes, because I understand [the process]. If you have context and you understand what they are doing, then you are less likely to take umbrage.
“So, I really feel that we have taken too much for granted and that there needs to be a dedicated effort to capacity building and public education across the board on all labour rights, and all the rights of the stakeholders. But similarly, in the art of negotiation…because negotiation is an art and people need to understand how to do it, what good negations look like and what bad negotiations look like.”
In response, Mr. Houngbo said his organisation was happy to lend its expertise in this regard and promised to follow through on the Prime Minister’s request for capacity building training.
He also expressed deep admiration for Ms. Mottley’s work on the international stage and her advocacy in several areas.
The Prime Minister also touched on the work of the Employment Rights Tribunal, whose operations are currently part-time. Ms. Mottley told the ILO Director General about the growing backlog of cases and the need for the ILO’s assistance to make the transition to a full-time tribunal.
“I have previously mentioned that I want to transition the existing tribunal to a full-time operation, but we don’t want it to be ‘hobbled down’ in the same way that the judiciary and the traditional law courts have been hobbled down with cases. So, we need to get the right balance and I think that we are beginning to turn the corner. I am sure that we will be approaching you for resources to make that transition,” Ms. Mottley stated.
The two officials also discussed the role strong unions and a strong private sector play to ensure stability, fairness, and better conditions for all employees; pension reform; and the ongoing transformation of key sectors. (PR/GIS)
Caption: ILO Director General Gilbert Houngbo greets President of the Barbados Union of Teachers, Rudy Lovell while President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union, Mary-Anne Redman and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, look on.
