The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce’s chairman has warned the Government and trade unions that “destroying businesses” will render talks on worker protection and benefits “moot”, as there will be no jobs for them to fill.

Gowon Bowe urged both the Christie administration and worker representatives to realise that Bahamian companies “are not bottomless pits of money”, and that there was a limit to how much regulation and costs they can absorb.

The Chamber chief also called on the Government to avoid a “knee jerk” response to Sandals’ mass termination of its 600-strong workforce, given that any legislative action was likely to produce “unintended consequences” for the private sector and wider economy.

Mr Bowe spoke out amid increasing private sector concern over the “emergency” labour law reforms that the Government wants to bring to the House of Assembly by September 30, in direct response to the Sandals situation.

The Christie administration wants to make it mandatory for employers to provide two months’ (60 days) notice to itself and the relevant bargaining agent (trade union) whenever they are about to make 10 or more workers redundant, with failing to do so becoming a criminal offence.

And, accompanying this proposal, the Government also wants to remove the Employment Act’s existing ‘12-year cap’ on severance/redundancy pay.

While the National Tripartite Council, made up of trade union, government and private sector representatives, is supposed to discuss the proposals in a bid to achieve an agreed position, the Government has made clear that it wants to push them forward as is.

Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) are understood to have reassured anxious private sector executives that the proposals have not been presented via a ‘take it or leave it’ ultimatum from the Government, and that consultations and feedback from the private sector will be factored into the final outcome.

And when asked whether the Christie administration intended to ‘ram through’ its proposals, Mr Bowe said he was confident it would “not be so naive” as to further exacerbate tensions with the private sector.

The proposed reforms, though, threaten to further increase costs, and undermine the ‘ease of doing business’ in a fragile economy that according to recent Department of Statistics data has just undergone two consecutive years of recession.

And coming after the imposition of numerous tax (VAT) and regulatory impositions, the proposals will also hit a weak private sector confidence and give the impression that the Government is anti-business.

Mr Bowe, while disagreeing that the proposed reforms would further undermine business confidence, acknowledged: “Employee representatives and the Government need to be reminded that businesses are not bottomless pits of money.

“If businesses are forced to close because of unprofitability, there will be no businesses, and with no businesses there will be no employees, and the discussion of employee benefits will be moot.

“I cannot destroy a company by paying everything out to the employees, because if there’s no company, there’s no employees.”

Mr Bowe added that Bahamian capital and labour needed to work together for the common good, and the service-driven nature of this economy gave workers a natural protection that was stronger than any legislation.

“We have to have a mindset of protecting the viability of businesses in general, while impressing upon businesses that your success comes from a talented and highly motivated workforce,” the Chamber chairman added.

“Employees can destroy businesses that are oppressive to them, and there is a natural protection for workers because most businesses in the Bahamas are service driven. Without employees, businesses do not do well.”

The Government’s ‘mandatory redundancy notice’ period proposal appears to be a direct response to Sandals’ decision to terminate 592 workers while it conducts a $4 million, two-month renovation at its Royal Bahamian property.

But the nature of the resort’s subsequent job fair, where terminated had to reapply for their jobs and outside candidates were invited to apply, raised suspicions that Sandals was using the renovations as a ‘union busting’ exercise.

The Bahamas Hotel, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union has been recognised as the bargaining agent for Sandals line staff, and has been seeking - without success - to engage in the resort in industrial agreement negotiations.

The temperature in the two sides’ dispute rose markedly just before the resort’s closure and staff terminations, with road blockages and the union filing a court case against the resort’s senior management.

Calling for cool heads to prevail, Mr Bowe told Tribune Business: “Business has to educate the Government as to the impact of onerous regulation and trying to over-protect certain aspects of the economy.

“Too often there have been knee jerk reactions to unusual circumstances like Sandals. While I certainly expect a review of the laws that protect workers, I don’t expect any exaggerated changes until there’s been a proper consideration of the consequences and other options to achieve the same goals.”

Mr Bowe reiterated that “you don’t amend legislation for one particular circumstance; you use that circumstance to guide debate on risks not foreseen in the past.

“It has to be a collaborative approach. What will be the unintended consequences? You may address a particular symptom, and cause the rest of the body to fail. You may cut out the pimple and bleed to death.”

When asked whether he felt the Government would try to force its proposals through the Tripartite Council, Mr Bowe said: “I am confident the Government will not be so naive as to have so many divisive topics on the board that it takes an action that might create further tension.”

He added that while Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, had indicated he hoped the Tripartite Council “leans in a particular fashion”, his comments showed the Government realised the “merits” of using the body.

Mr Bowe emphasised the need for a “good faith”, collaborative approach to discussing and determining any labour reforms.