ACKNOWLEDGING that this was the “most turbulent time” since he held office, Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) general secretary Sir Roy Trotman is concerned about the increasing number of layoffs throughout the private sector and thinks that Government may be challenged to prevent some job losses in the Public Service.
Speaking at a Press conference at the union’s Solidarity House headquarters in Harmony Hall, Sir Roy felt that the unemployment rate might now be actually 13 per cent rather than the official figure of around 12.2 per cent.
“I foresee that there are challenges to the Government in meeting its obligations to honour the no layoff agreement but I am equally conscious of the fact that there was a lot of talk about layoffs for some months now and I think we have to bear in mind that the Government has to be the employer in the last resort and the Government has to be the one setting the example when the crunch comes,” he said.
Sir Roy said that construction required new start-ups and the hotel industry cried out for an injection “to get people back out”.
