The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A TAXICAB union leader said a four-day workweek concept is a sign of “laziness”.

Wesley Ferguson, president of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union (BTCU), made the comments after Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the government would consider recommendations from last week’s labour laws reform symposium, including one about moving to a four-day workweek.

“We already work in a counter-productive environment where people goof off with the five days that they have,” MrFerguson said yesterday. “When you add up all the hours that they goof off, it’s about two days out of five, so they account for about three working days. What it does is add costs to a person who has a business because his business has to be open during the hours he determines are necessary for him to survive.”

Mr Ferguson said a four-day workweek would not affect self-employed taxi- cab drivers.

“They put in their own hours –– the average taxi driver works seven days a week and by choice,” he said. “They are not looking for short hours; they work seven days a week, as many hours as they want because we, fortunately, operate in a 24-hour taxi service environment.” Giving his preliminary thoughts, Darrin Woods, president of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU), raised concerns about how a reduced workweek would affect employee compensation, especially in the service industry, which he said “requires a constant presence”.

Kyle Wilson, president of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU), questioned how a four-day workweek would be implemented. He noted that Bahamian laws entitle workers to overtime after a certain number of hours and he raised concerns about adjusting industrial agreements.

He also questioned the impact on other professions, such as teaching, policing, and hotel services. He said: “How does it work with the law? How does it fit certain sectors of the working market? That means you’d have to hire more employees. That’s what that’s telling me, but it does lay in a grey area because it could be welcomed by many.”

Regarding the impact on his sector, he said: “If we’re paid by the day and there’s only a four-day workweek, then it’s gonna be more on the employers to pay overtime to the employees for the additional day. It’s a lot to be considered in this regard.”