Increased productivity is the clarion call which keeps ringing in our ears. And so it should, since it will be a major contributor to our recovery from the mess we’re in. I’m glad Minister of Industry Donville Inniss recognises that the excessive sums paid in overtime must stop, and is seeking a longer workday, maybe even a 24-hour workday.
I believe that trade unions have been unreasonable and shortsighted in their wage demands, perhaps not realising that a closed business doesn’t benefit workers or the country. Hopefully, they will be made to understand the error of their ways.
A proposal for longer workdays and a productivity system to replace Customs/health overtime at the Bridgetown Port was recommended by an Inter-American Development Bank study Strategy To Strengthen Trade Logistics And Trade Facilitation as far back as 2007. The study looked at all factors which increased the cost of doing business at the port, and consequently increased the price of goods. It revealed, among other things, that congestion on our roads affected transport of goods and recommended transport at night. Could it be that these recommendations, which have remained dormant for so long, are now being taken seriously?
A 24-hour work day is nothing new. It’s normal in quite a few areas (apart from emergency services like the police and the fire service), namely the hotel industry, public and private hospitals and the sugar industry during the harvest season, so although valid concerns have been expressed about better public transport, 24-hour child and elder care facilities and better lighting, if such a system is introduced, the shift system has worked in the past.
Absenteeism and poor work ethic contribute significantly to reduced productivity, but there’s another time-wasting problem which has been developing for years in the medical and banking systems, with no one seeming to challenge the trend.
In both cases, not only does this time-wasting cause frustration, and in the case of doctors’ offices, may even lead to an exacerbation of the patient’s condition, it also results in reduced productivity which the island can hardly afford. How can people with one hour for lunch wait over an hour to see a doctor or reach a bank teller? This is now the norm.
Admittedly, some private doctors have remedied the situation by having extended hours, even until midnight, and we do have at least one 24-hour private medical facility. Not so with the banking fraternity. With few exceptions, they have shorter opening hours than most business places. Again, Minister Inniss recognised this shortcoming when he recently attended a bank function.
Customers have suffered for years at the hands of banks which have taken them for granted, focusing only on increased fees with no concomitant improvement in service. It’s time for us to take a stand, but with there being so little choice for safe investments, and the offerings and service of banks so similarly poor, customers are caught between a rock and a hard place. That’s not to say the service received from many individual staff is not good, but the level of staffing, the facilities for customers and the systems leave a lot to be desired. This has got progressively worse as banks seem to be managed by remote control via rules issued from “over and away”.
The bank I use recently closed two branches and seemingly merged them with a third, but has given no thought to the obvious increase in traffic. At no time have I observed less than 20 people waiting in line, and it’s almost impossible to complete your business in under an hour. Didn’t they think they should provide more tellers? Far from it, I believe some staff were severed or otherwise terminated. No thought was apparently given to parking either, since the parking area, which is shared with other businesses, has suddenly become so congested that there are often gridlocks at the entrance.
One may say, use the ATMs, but have you noticed the new spate of ATM crime? The banks just can’t seem to keep ahead of the criminals in this technology, so safety is a real concern. Furthermore, when you do have a problem, some banks seem very slow in assisting customers in recovering their funds. Something has to be done!
• Dr Frances Chandler is a former independent senator.
