Barbados Prime Minister Seeks ILO Assistance for Transformation of Employment Rights Tribunal

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has asked the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to assist in transitioning the Employment Rights Tribunal to a full-time operation.

She told ILO Director General Gilbert Houngbo about the need for the growing backlog of cases before the part-time tribunal, and the need for his organisation’s assistance during a recent courtesy call.

“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,” Mottley said.

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.

The prime minister added that she 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.

Contending that the development of a modern Barbados was “inextricably intertwined” with the labour movement, she stressed that labour negotiation must be seen as an art and practitioners needed to know how to do so effectively: “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”.

“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 negotiations look like and what bad negotiations look like,” she added.

In response, Houngbo said the ILO was happy to lend its expertise in this regard and promised to follow through on the prime minister’s request for capacity building training.

(BGIS/BT)