THE NEWS THIS WEEK that the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) is experiencing grave financial difficulties ought to concern Barbadians generally.
Within the context of the trade union movement in Barbados, the Congress is relatively young, having been founded in 1994. The nature of its birth and the critical national purpose it has served since then, however, ably support the position that it has played an important role on our socio-economic agenda for more than two decades.
CTUSAB is an umbrella organisation for trade unions that represent the working class of Barbados. Trade unions are not rich organisations; by extension, any body they are required to support is hardly likely to ever be rich – or, perhaps more appropriately, ever be more than a few steps away from poverty.
This is ably highlighted in the current scenario. Government provides an annual subvention of $80 000 and CTUSAB’s affiliated organisations, based on the size of their membership, pay fees that together keep the umbrella body afloat. For more than a decade though, as the island faced tremendous fiscal challenges, union membership has been negatively impacted, with the public sector in particular taking a big hit.
At the same time, Government has had to very carefully manage its limited financial resources, a process that has included cuts and rescheduled (delayed) payments to many who depend on the Treasury for sustenance.
All these have conspired, along with a falling out between the Congress and its then largest affiliate, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), to place great strain on CTUSAB, to the point where its capacity to meet its financial obligations has been under threat.
And while the assurance by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler that Government will continue to support the Congress with a subvention, even with the possibility that it could be returned to its pre-cut level, is comforting, the long-term viability of such an important organisation ought not to be so heavily dependent on the generosity of any political party. After all, the disposition of one political leader will not necessarily be that of a successor.
Barbados’ economic and social success, and the stability for which we are known around the world, have been heavily influenced for more than half a century by responsible unions and union leadership, and the coming into being of CTUSAB in the early 1990s, when the country faced a major political and economic crisis that could have brought it to its knees, helped in no small measure to maintain that.
It is therefore very important that the members and leaders of the various affiliates of CTUSAB determine that the financing model of the organisation will be adjusted to create a more secure future that is less dependent on the state’s annual budgeting exercise.
We believe it is also in the best interest of the trade union movement that urgent steps be taken to heal the rift between CTUSAB and the BWU. If there is one thing the local trade union movement is not short on it is a capacity for negotiations. It is therefore time to use as much of that talent as is required to bring about healing. After all, it ought to be easier for persons operating with a common goal to arrive at an agreement, as opposed to negotiating with an opposing side – which is what trade unions have been doing for centuries.
This has to be a first step toward a financially secure CTUSAB.
