Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Kerrie Symmonds is calling out the “barbarity” affecting Barbados’ workforce.
During a Zoom meeting yesterday to launch Global Entrepreneurship Week 2021, under the theme Thriving Through Turbulent Times, Symmonds said bad workplace practices, especially in construction, were driving people to seek self-employment.
“I am seeing and hearing about some developments . . . that worry me deeply. Above and beyond the necessities created by the pandemic for people to embark on new enterprises, I see and hear developments that cause me to believe that . . . the resources which the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) offers will increasingly be called upon in this country as [entrepreneurship may be] the only viable and logical alternative to some of the unrestrained barbarity that is running amok in some of the sectors of employment in Barbados,” he said.
The minister highlighted practices in the construction sector where he said “hundreds if not thousands” of working-class people were being taken advantage of, particularly concerning National Insurance and retention sums.
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Kudos to Minister Symmonds for addressing the pressing issue of bad workplace practices. It’s crucial to create environments where employees can thrive, fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth.