Government is sending a strong message to employers in Barbados about the treatment of workers, as it brought legislation yesterday to ensure employees enjoy fair treatment and better conditions of work.
The Protection Of Wages Bill, 2026, debated in the House of Assembly yesterday, spells out expected conditions which employers are expected to meet. Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan said Government would not allow exploitation of workers in Barbados in any form, whether they be Barbadian-born, CARICOM nationals or migrant workers.
Piloting the Bill, he decried several employment practices, complaining that what was once considered decent ways of approaching industrial relations was falling by the wayside, adding the disrespect was coming from “newcomers or ‘come-yuhs’”.
“I use this opportunity to say to all those who will come, or those who have come, we expect nothing less than decent approaches to industrial relations and occupational safety and health,” Jordan warned.
“To employers guilty of mistreating workers, the Minister of Labour sends the terse message: If your business model does not allow you to treat your workers well, then shut it down.”
He assured petrol station workers that Government had their back, against the backdrop of a previous complaint from a petrol station employee who was paid wages of $249 in coins. The Bill addresses this, with the regulation that no more than $10 of wages can be paid in coins.
The minister reminded petrol station workers that they were entitled to a full medical annually, at no cost to themselves.
“We have put in place a regulation that calls for workers in that setting to be provided with annual medicals, including blood work at no cost to themselves. I encourage all petrol station workers to ensure that they realise the benefit that we have put into a regulation under the Safety And Health At Work Act.”
The existing Protection Of Wages Act is a 1951 piece of legislation, last amended in 1975. While several features of it remain, new provisions are designed to greatly improve protection for the worker, the
House heard.
For example, wage payment methods will include wire transfer and direct deposit, which Jordan pointed out were not currently in the law, though many workers were paid by these two methods.
The legislation also gives protection to the employee in cases of bankruptcy or insolvency of the employer, making provision for workers to be treated as preferred creditors with respect to any work done by them, prior to the employer’s filing for bankruptcy.
Another issue which the bill seeks to address is failure of employers to pay money deducted from employees’ wages for onward payment on behalf of the employee.
“We have had too many situations where money has been deducted from workers’ wages, with the understanding that those deductions were to be passed on either to a credit union, trade union, hire purchase company . . . and were not sent on to where they were supposed to go. With the passage of this Bill, I expect the wickedness to stop,” Jordan declared.
The penalty for such an employer transgression will be $30 000, or up to three years in prison.
He said Government had continuously been working on appropriate legislation to improve the lot of all workers in Barbados. He warned employers: “We are not asking for anything new. We are asking for decency in the operation of your business.” (GC)