The election season is fast upon us as seen by both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition making their budget presentations. Both presentations were filled with goodies. We were told of housing programmes, a new wage increase and teacher retention programmes, crime-fighting strategies and the like.
The finance minister, in her presentation, disclosed that there would be no new taxes and that the income tax threshold would be raised from $1.7 million to $2 million over the next two years saving citizens some $200,000 which she stated could be used for a deposit on a car.
Little in this budget presentation was aimed at those who are the majority of the country — the workers. While talk was made of amending laws that deal with the rights of workers, such as those on contract, even going so far as to call for laws to address cases of abusive contract employment, the same Opposition party during the same week’s budget presentation stated that it believed that BPOs, a sector of employment which thrives on abusive contract labour, would be the main job creator in their future administration.
For those who are unaware or uninitiated the BPOs, or call centres as they are colloquially called, operate on contract labour. One of the primary reasons they can operate with such low overheads is because they are able to fire workers at the drop of a hat. Workers in the BPO sector oftentimes are short-changed when it comes to payment, paid late, have their bonuses clawed back and have no job security as their tenure is non-existent and tied to a contract which is yearly and can be renewed only by the company.
Meanwhile, the Government earlier this year and late last year went on a campaign blitz to speak to the hotel workers who have been protesting over poor working conditions and poor payment. During this time Government promised that more would be done to improve their lot. They promised better housing, better payment, and better working conditions all while seeking to bring the workers into negotiations with the bosses whose actions had led to the protest.
Again, for those who do not know, the hospitality sector is a sector where abuse of all forms is rife. It is not uncommon for some workers to work overtime and not be fed. It is common for workers to have to begin work at ungodly hours and not be afforded staff transportation. In fact, the poor transportation is such a common feature that in tourism hotspots it is not uncommon for those involved in crashes to be members of the hospitality industry.
The Government, in an effort to show that hotels are not all that bad, recently announced that a new hotel was to be built but, and get this, the hotel would build housing for the hotel workers filled with goodies and amenities such as electricity and sewage and all the workers would have to worry about is paying rent.
What is being described is a company town, I want us to be clear on that. In a company town all houses in the manatees are owned and operated by the company, in this case the hotel, and the only people who can live there are those who work in the hotel. If we think this through to its logical conclusion the company can evict those with whom it is displeased, and since it’s all rented the workers have no hope of ever owning their house, so when they hit retirement age, I guess dog nyam dem supper.
I highlight these two specific issues — issues which the Government and the Opposition sought to speak on not because they are random but because they highlight so much of what is wrong with politics in this country. Nowhere in this are BPO workers or hotel workers consulted. If they were, these solutions would not have been proposed. What the workers have been clamouring for in the BPO case is the elimination of contract employment, something the State can do, as seen with the elimination of contract employment in the public sector. What workers have been clamouring for in the tourism sector is proper union representation and an end to conditions reminiscent of a Pride and Prejudice novel.
If we exclude the COVID election, voter participation hovers around 40%. People are not interested. The minority represents the majority, and this is why it is not enough to say that you will look into the ills of contract labour. You must actively seek to compel these companies to treat these workers like any other worker. It is not enough to simply say that hotels must treat workers better. They must be compelled, strong-armed and forced into treating workers with decency and respect.
No company is going to willingly treat workers well. No boss is going to send out directives willingly that employees must be treated with a modicum of humanity and respect. Their bottom-line dictates that they must squeeze every ounce of juice out of the fruit that is the worker and if it means not picking them up and taking them to work then so be it. If it means putting them in abusive contract situations then so be it. For the Government and the Opposition to pretend that simply talking to these companies will make them act better is a slap in the face to the workers and is just one reason there is such distrust when it comes to politicians.
Voter apathy is at record levels in this country and I do not expect much improvement this election. Crime is down, and we are experiencing record levels of employment, yet people still feel insecure and are unable to purchase goods easily. Something does not add up. On one hand you have a Government saying everything is okay and on the other hand you have an Opposition saying that things are okay but they can make it a lot better, when the truth is the whole house is burning down and things are not okay for anyone apart from those in select industries.
Why should the people come out in numbers and vote for one or another party which has and continues to view them as expendable? Why should people take time out of their busy day to vote for either of the two parties who have more time for their bosses than they do the workers? As we get closer to elections, these are questions we have to ask ourselves. Are we comfortable voting for a party that views company towns as the answer, and are we comfortable voting for a party that views BPOs as the answer?
I think we can do better. I think the people of this country deserve better but it will not happen overnight. People must organise, come together, discuss, create new movements or join existing movements, join labour unions and other civic organisations to empower themselves and their communities and their workplaces. Change will not come from the JLP and the PNP, it must come from the people and it will come from organisations of their making, not the failed archaic parties of the past. We cannot be bogged down in voter apathy, we must rise above it and we must do what is necessary to build a better country, a country fit for workers and not simply fit for those who exploit labour.
