The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has responded to a recent full page paid statement by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) rejecting the union’s claims that BCCI members were taking advantage of consumers.
The BCCI said while it shared the deep sense of concern felt by the NUPW, it was stoutly refuting the insinuations and went on in the advertisement published in the Weekend Nation of May 28 to outline external factors that would affect the prices of a wide range of imported goods and raw materials.
In response yesterday, president Akanni McDowall reiterated the NUPW’s position that the stance taken by the commercial sector seemed to be unique to Barbados, “given that, in our recent memories, there has been no similar outcry by our brothers and sisters across the region”.
“Until some economic recovery can be attained from the shocks of the pandemic, which has led to mass unemployment in vital sectors such as tourism, there is simply no capacity within the Barbadian household for price increases. Such action could well push those on the brink into a state of poverty, and the research is already out there that confirms many households are not coping with basic needs at this time,” he said. (AC/PR)
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