The Tribune

By Annelia Nixon

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Businesses and trade unions gave mixed opinions on whether The Bahamas should shift to a four-day work week amid concern this will force the Government to pay increasing overtime costs.

“The extra day off will also mean overtime for certain departments,” Deron Brooks, president of the Bahamas Customs, Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BICAWU), said while referring to the four-day work week as “an interesting idea”.

He added: “As it stands now, [the] Government is delinquent in that area in the Customs Department and a few months behind in the Immigration Department.” Mr Brooks’ comments came after Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, said she was closely watching Iceland’s implementation of a four-day work week to assess how it could operate here.

However, Mr Brooks said: “I don’t think the Government will support it because it will mean one less day they will have available to perform certain services and to collect government revenue. I think [the] Government will consider if and how the implementation of a four-day work-week would affect revenue collection and generation.”

The BICAWU, on October 30, voted on a strike after the issue of overdue overtime payments and other issues were not resolved to its satisfaction. The union is still awaiting the official results of the poll, but Mr Brooks said he is confident that they will be granted the strike certificate.

However, he added that workers could have an added rest day and more time to spend with their family if the four-day work week materialises. But Chef Armin, owner and manager of Original Swiss Sweet Shop, said that with three days off employees may get “bored” and it will also reduce productivity in the workplace.

“I believe the five-day is pretty good,” Chef Armin said. “I mean, I used to work with one day off a week and that was alright. So I don’t know. I’m in management, so we used to work with one day off a week. So two days was like heaven. Three days, people get bored. I mean, if you love your job, it will be hard for you, you know. If you don’t love your job, then it’s fine with you.”

Chef Armin also questioned how the four-day work week would look. He said if a day were to be subtracted from the work week for every staff member, “that means you need 20 percent more employees.” He added: “So where do you get them from?”

Mrs Glover-Rolle, speaking to the Bahamas Society for Human Resource Management’s 2024 annual conference and expo last week, signalled that she is open to similar reform while arguing that The Bahamas cannot “become a dinosaur” in its working practices and treatment of employees.

“And, when we talk about remote work, and when we talk about the four-day work week that Iceland has already implemented and they’re in test mode, I’m watching closely because you know the people here say it can’t work,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said.

“But you know how we are. It can’t work until it works, and somebody has to have the fortitude to make it work. But productivity is what is critical for us in our workforce as human resource managers. We want somebody who could get it done even if it takes three hours, if it takes ten hours, as opposed to somebody who is present but isn’t present.

“So we have to prioritise our employee well-being alongside that of organisational productivity. And that’s where the world is headed. Even if The Bahamas isn’t as quick on the uptake all the time, remember that we are competing in a global labour market,” she added.

“You don’t want to allow yourself to become a dinosaur in this environment when the competition may be a high achiever, even though you’re across the globe. Remember that dinosaurs don’t walk the earth any more and that’s for a reason - because they failed to adapt. So as human resources leaders, as experts, do not fear change. It is inevitable and we might as well embrace it.

“But I know I’m speaking to a room of change agents, so I’m not concerned about that. But this is the kicker. It’s not you that I’m concerned about. It’s getting our teams to embrace change. It’s getting our teams to buy into the vision. The more of your organisation that remains responsive to change, the easier your essential change management processes will be as you retool for human resources competitiveness.”