Barbados Workers' Union Accuses Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association of Disruptive Tactics in Hotel Worker Standards Legislation

The Barbados Workers’ Union has accused the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) of employing “tactics of disruption and delay” in relation to proposals to legislate standards for workers in the hotel sector.

The accusation came in a statement from the BWU’s General Secretary, Toni Moore, yesterday, and amidst an ongoing feud between the two parties involving complaints from hotel workers about grievances in the sector.

Yesterday the BWU reacted to a full-page BHTA paid advertisement in the Weekend Nation on January 12, in which the umbrella organisation highlighted among other matters, its concerns regarding the Tourism Framework Protocol, describing it as a document that “would serve as a basis for terms and conditions to guide the BHTA members”.

“The executive council of the Barbados Workers’ Union finds the public advertisement from the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) to be most bewildering, especially given the distance that has been covered through dialogue which commenced 18 weeks ago under the Chairmanship of the Ministers of Labour and Tourism,” the BWU charged.

The Union noted that on December 4, 2023, after a series of meetings, the BHTA accepted the agreement as outlined by the ministers on a number of proposals that had been the subject of discussion. One of these included the commitment to the passage of legislation to establish national standards to govern entities in the hotel sector that benefit from concessions and waivers. (GC)