Annual Report 2012 - Barbados Employers' ConfederationBarbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL...

Acknowledging our 53rd Annual General Meeting

Annual Report 2012

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i Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Our Mission:

The Barbados Employers’ Confederation promotes and

maintains harmony in the employment relationship by being the

employers’ primary advocate and advisor assisting in the

amicable settlement of disputes, as well as facilitating social

dialogue. Our wealth of expertise and research capacity, allows

us to provide targeted, proactive solutions.

Our Vision:

The Barbados Employers’ Confederation will emerge as the

membership organization of choice for promoting the viability

and success of local and regional businesses through the

provision of high quality and professional human resource and

industrial relations solutions.

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ii Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

THE BARBADOS EMPLOYERS’ CONFEDERATION (BEC) IS AFFILIATED TO THE

Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA)

Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC)

International Organization of Employers (IOE)

International Labour Organization (ILO)

BEC’S STAFF ARE MEMBERS OF THE FOLLOWING PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS:

Human Resource Management Association of Barbados, Inc.

Society for Human Resources Management

Institute of Canadian Bankers

Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Canada

The Canadian Association of Financial Planning

The Chartered Association of Business Administrators

Barbados Institute of Banking and Finance

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iii Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

OFFICERS OF COUNCIL

President

Mr. Ian Gooding-Edghill

Vice Presidents

Mrs. Dawn Jemmott-Lowe Mr. Everton Browne 1st Vice President 2nd Vice President

Immediate Past President

Dr. Hensley Sobers Trustees

Mrs. Roglyn Hinds Sir. Allan Fields

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iv Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

OFFICERS & MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

NAMES & GROUP

COMPANIES

Mrs. Lisa Ridley-Paul Manufacturing Group

Banks Holdings Ltd.

Mrs. Kyrel Roach Distribution Group

Unicomer (Barbados) Ltd.

Mrs. Diana Douglas Ancillary Services Group

G4S Security Services (Barbados) Ltd

Ms. Sharon Jemmott Utilities Group

LIME

Mr. Horace Cobham Financial Services Group

The Barbados Bankers Association

Mrs. Samantha Nurse-Butler Construction Group

C O Williams Construction Ltd.

Mr. Cary Tulloch Hospitality Services Group

Goddard Catering Group

Mr. Michael Best Garage Group

Courtesy Garage Ltd

Mr. Everton Browne Barbados Shipping & Trading Co. Ltd

Mr. Stuart Martin Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd. Mrs. Margaret Simmons CIBC FirstCaribbean International

Bank

Mr. Wayne Bowen Shipping Association of Barbados Mrs. Jennifer Bradshaw-Wood Goddard Enterprises Ltd.

Ms. Gail Springer

Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association

Mrs. Marguerite Estwick Sagicor Financial Corporation

Attorney-At-Law

Cicely Chase, Q.C Seneca Law Chambers

Auditors

Francina Downey & Company

Bankers

FirstCaribbean International Bank (B’dos)Ltd

Table of Contents

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ................................................................................................ 1

ADMINISTRATION .......................................................................................................... 3

STAFFING .......................................................................................................................... 4

YEAR IN REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 6

THE ECONOMY ....................................................................................................................................... 6

THE WAY AHEAD ................................................................................................................................... 7

OUTLOOK FOR 2013 ............................................................................................................................. 14

GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................... 14

LEGISLATION ........................................................................................................................................ 15

STRATEGIC PARTNERS ......................................................................................................................... 18

INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS ........................................................................................... 20

SMALL BUSINESS & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ....................................................21

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & ENTERPRISE SKILLS .................................................................................... 21

MEMBER VISITS..................................................................................................................................... 22

RESPONSE TO ISSUES ............................................................................................................................ 22

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ........................................................................................... 24

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.................................................................................................................. 24

WAGE SETTLEMENTS 2012 ............................................................................................................... 26

WORK STOPPAGES............................................................................................................................... 27

TRAINING ....................................................................................................................... 29

SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS ...................................................................................................................... 29

SAFETY & HEALTH ....................................................................................................... 32

OCCUPATION SAFETY AND HEALTH ................................................................................................. 32

HIV/AIDS AND THE WORLD OF WORK .......................................................................................... 34

MAJOR CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS .................................................................. 35

BEC REPRESENTATION ...............................................................................................41

BEC MEMBERSHIP TRADE GROUPS ........................................................................ 44

THE BARBADOS HOTEL & TOURISM ASSOCIATION ........................................... 25

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ii Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING In accordance with Rule 7(c) of the Constitution of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation, I hereby give notice that the Fifty-Third Annual General Meeting of this organization will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael, Barbados. AGENDA

1. Prayers 2. Welcome 3. Confirmation of Minutes 4. Matters Arising 5. President’s Report 6. Council’s Report for year ended December 31, 2012 7. Adoption of Audited Statements of Accounts, 2012 8. Election of the following Officers:

a) President b) Two (2) Vice Presidents c) Two (2) Trustees

9. Election of Trade Group Representatives to serve on Council 10. Appointment of Auditors 11. Any other Business 12. Termination of Meeting.

Yvonne Cheltenham Secretary/Treasurer

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1 Barbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL REPORT 2012

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Mr. Ian Gooding-Edghill

I am pleased to report to our 53rd Annual General Meeting that the Barbados

Employers' Confederation (BEC) continues to focus on its strategic mandate and

mission to serve our members.

Although the last year was particularly challenging for employers, the

Confederation remained resolute in building stronger relations with its members to

achieve common business objectives.

The Confederation's staff spent considerable time building partnerships with new

and emerging business entities. The secretariat must be congratulated for the

excellent work it has done in facilitating foreign investors with their human

resource transition.

To the credit of the secretariat, the BEC has become a visible partner in facilitating

foreign direct investment in Barbados. We have witnessed an increase in the

number of enquiries from potential investors calling on the offices of the BEC for

advice on local human resource and industrial relations business practices.

The BEC continued its advocacy in respect of Government's legislative agenda to

ensure the employers' points of view are expressed with confidence and fairness is

achieved.

The Confederation remains very concerned about the viability of businesses and

hopes that appropriate policy measures will be implemented to reverse current

trading conditions.

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It is clear that the financial and economic effects are beginning to pose very serious

threats to enterprises and employment levels. The success of business and job

creation go hand in hand.

Notwithstanding these challenges, the Confederation's membership has not

declined, and we are pleased to report that revenues have risen year on year.

I would like to thank members of Council for their valuable contributions over the

past year. I would also like to thank the staff of the BEC for their diligence in

managing the work of the secretariat.

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ADMINISTRATION

Executive Director

Mr. Tony Walcott

Industrial Relations Officers

Mrs. Siobhan Robinson-Morris Ms. Sheena Mayers Mr. Sean Daniel

Secretary/Treasurer

Ms. Yvonne Cheltenham

Office Assistant Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Shirley Ellis Ms. Tammy Walcott

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STAFFING

Staff Development

The year 2012 turned out to be a year of progress for the Confederation as we

brought staffing levels back to the approved complement.

With the resignation from service of Mr. Takaidza Chafota effective April 30,

2012, we were able to fill the vacancy promptly and offered Mr. Sean Daniel the

position of Industrial Relations Officer effective May 01, 2012.

Staff attended the under noted training, development and other local interventions

during the year under review:

International Labour Organization- ILO World Day for Safety and Health

at Work

International Labour Organization – Dissemination Workshop on Enabling

Environment for Sustainable Enterprises

Distinguished Voices in the Community Lecture

Regional Forum on the Regional TVET Strategy

CARICOM/CIDA Trade and Competitiveness Project

Barbados Association of Office Professionals – Administrative

Professionals Day Workshop

Government of Barbados- FOROMIC Conference

The Central Bank of Barbados -“The Changing Pension Landscape”

The Central Bank of Barbados- “How to Keep the Economy Stable”

The Central Bank of Barbados- “Emotional Talent”

Barbados Association of Office Professionals - Annual Conference

Leaders Roundtable – Game Changers in Action

Consultation on Gender Policy

Through these programmes, the Secretariat and by extension the BEC benefitted

greatly from the knowledge gained from attending, as well as the networking

opportunities afforded to them.

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Other Staff Development

Ms. Tammy Walcott, Administrative Assistant continues her programme with the

University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus leading to the B.Sc. in

Management Studies.

Mr. Sean Daniel continues his studies in the area of Occupational Health and

Safety.

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YEAR IN REVIEW

The Economy

As was to be expected in a country that is highly dependent on tourism and

International Financial Services, the performance of the Barbadian economy in

2012 experienced a marginal improvement in real output over 2011, by most

indicators. The impact of the economic and financial crisis in industrialized

countries showed up in an anemic growth of real output, a flattening of foreign

exchange inflows and an increase in unemployment.

Output and foreign exchange from tourism contracted with a 6.2% decline in long-

stay arrivals and an increase of only 4.3% in the average length of stay.

Foreign investment in real estate projects was down about 16%.

The country’s extended fiscal position remains an area of major concern. The fiscal

deficit for the April-December 2012 period is estimated at 6.4% of GDP,

compared with 5.2% in the same period of 2011. Revenue from personal taxes was

down 10% and VAT receipts fell by 2.0%, despite there being a hike in the VAT

rate from 15.0% to 17.5%. Subsidies to government entities rose by 2%, and

interest payments were higher by 4%. Capital expenditure fell by 4%.

There was no alleviation of the rate of unemployment, which increased slightly to

an average rate of 11.7% over the period January to December 2012.

Real economic growth for Barbados in 2013 is forecast at 0.7%. Capital inflows of

$600 million are anticipated for activity in the tourism and construction sectors.

No significant gain in employment is expected.

Of continuing significant concern to many households is the sustained high level

of disposable income being used to cover personal electric utility costs and rising

food prices.

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At the end of a meeting of the Full Social Partnership on February 03, 2012, the

Prime Minister established a Barbados Action Team and its three (3) working

groups/task forces which will focus respectively on:

1. Efficiency (Business Facilitation; Raising Service Quality Levels)

2. Growth

3. Social Issues (Protecting the Vulnerable)

The Action Team has a membership of fifteen (15) persons with five persons

drawn from each of the Social Partners.

Meetings of the Barbados Action Team under the chairmanship of the Prime

Minister are held on regular basis.

The Way Ahead

Debate on Government’s Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the

2013/2014 Fiiscal Year were held in Parliament during the week commencing

Monday, March 20, 2013. As expected, these were very robustly debated, as it was

the first Parliamentary debate since the General Elections held on February 21,

2013, which saw the ruling Democratic Labour Party returned to office with a

reduced majority.

Of the thirty (30) seats in the House of Assembly, the ruling Democratic Labour

Party holds sixteen (16) seats, while the Opposition Barbados Labour Party holds

the other fourteen (14) seats.

During the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, the Government

announced a very ambitious stimulus package of some $600 million, aimed at kick-

starting the economy, with a significant portion of the activity centered on

Construction. Below is a partial breakdown of the projected capital works and

associated activities:

Construction of two high-rise housing complexes - $30 million

Construction of a new cruise terminal - $70 million

Construction of a new Cargo Shed at the airport - $20 million

Construction of a leachate plant at the landfill - $21 million

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Road building and rehabilitation works - $80 million

While any stimulus proposal is welcomed, there is some doubt about the

Government’s ability to deliver on all of these projects as the fiscal accounts are

reflecting a deficit of some $1.2 billion between projected revenues and planned

spending for the 2013/2014 year, a situation which could see further expansion in

an already unsustainable level of Public debt and further increases in taxation; these

challenges were not meaningfully addressed by the Minister of Finance during the

debates.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper released on April 01, 2013, titled

Caribbean Small States: Challenges of High Debt and Low Growth, among

other things, highlighted that the attempts at tackling the exploding debt situation

had generally failed and it was non-commodity exporting countries like Barbados,

The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean sub region that faced debt levels which

now jeopardized their prospects for growth.

The IMF further warned Caribbean countries that reducing high public debt was

critical not only to prevent the risk of a “fiscal crisis” but also to cut the costs that

debt imposed on the economy.

Full year outturn for 2012 reflected a flat economic performance and indications to

date show that the Tourism sector, a key driver in the economy, has

underperformed, with arrivals in Q1, 2013 down in excess of 8.0% from the

corresponding period in 2012.

The Eurozone

The continuing challenges being experienced in the United Kingdom and

Eurozone countries continue to have significant negative impacts on tourism and

investment flows to Barbados and the wider Caribbean region.

The recent near-collapse of the banking and financial system and the significant

austerity programme agreed by the Government of Cyprus, further exacerbates the

challenges in the Eurozone.

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In February 2013, unemployment in the Eurozone reached a new record high of

12% (19.57 million persons unemployed), a development which will have a major

negative impact on our outlook for Foreign Direct Investments from this area.

The USA

As the economy in the United States begins to show signs of a slow recovery, this

has medium to longer term implications for positive change in the outlook of

Barbados’ economic recovery programmes. However, this may not be enough to

compensate for the continuing weakening of the prospects out of the United

Kingdom and the Eurozone countries.

The Retail Sector

This sector continues to have challenges resulting from shrinking disposable

incomes of the consumers and rising operating costs for the businesses. Some in

this sector continue to explore their options on Lay-Offs and Redundancies,

arising from the need to review their business models.

Sales of consumer durables (household furniture, household appliances and new

motor vehicles) continue to perform very sluggishly; reports suggest that total

motor vehicle sales in the country have slipped from a high of 400+ per month in

2008/2009 to under 150 per month in the last quarter of 2011; this performance

continued into 2012.

Recent comments suggest that 2013 shows no or very little signs of rebounding.

The Banking and Financial Services Sector

During 2012, commercial banks maintained capital positions well above the

statutory requirements and remained highly profitable, with adequate levels of

liquidity. However, there was further deterioration in credit quality and loans not

being fully serviced on time reached 12.7% of total loans, compared with 11.1% at

December 2011. Actual losses on loans were no more than 0.2% of total loans and

advances.

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The continuing high level of impaired loans across the financial services sector is

coming under very much closer scrutiny by the Central Bank of Barbados

The Construction Sector

With the exception of the start of the construction of the new Barbados Water

Authority headquarters, no major Private Sector construction projects are in the

pipeline.

Comments by members of the Barbados Institute of Architects (BIA) have shown

concern about the minimum level of construction activity going on, which has

resulted in architects finding it difficult to get jobs.

The woes in the construction sector are further being exacerbated by the

challenges many developers are having with the Town and Country Planning

Department in terms of the time they are taking to approve applications, resulting

in the slowdown of project implementation.

Latest reports on the Four Seasons Resort project have given no indication of the

likely restart of this project, as the developers are still negotiating to source funding

for the project; press reports suggested that anticipated funding of $60 million

from the Barbados National Insurance Scheme, together with additional funding

from the IADB was approved.

Comments by the Minister of Finance during the Debate on the Estimates of

Revenue and Expenditure for 2013/2014 expressed guarded optimism that full

private sector funding has been identified and approved for the continued

development/re-start of the Four Seasons Resort project, which could see the

Government of Barbados being released from having to provide financial support

to the project.

The Manufacturing Sector

This continues to be under considerable stress as input costs, especially fuel,

transportation and electricity costs, continued to rise steadily with no real

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abatement in sight; export markets continue to present challenges to access and be

maintained.

With respect to agro-processing, exports of quality rum that is aged, blended and

bottled in Barbados, account for 43% of rum exports. This premium segment of

the market will be less severely affected by the US subsidization of commodity rum

produced in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The Tourism Sector

Tourism value-added contracted by an estimated 3.5% in 2012. There were

reductions of 8.8% and 9.0% in US and UK visitors, respectively.

The closure of the Almond Resorts represented an estimated loss, on average, of

about one-fifth of visitors preferring an all-inclusive vacation. This coupled with

the UK’s Air Passenger Duty, which increased by over 8% and the decrease in the

number of flights out of the US and UK by two major carriers, were the main

contribution factors to this outturn.

In addition, the cessation of flights by RedJet earlier in the year contributed to the

reduction in regional visitors. Persons travelling from Trinidad and Tobago rose by

almost 50% between January and April, but subsequently slowed to 1.5% for the

year as a whole, while visitors from other regional economies contracted by 8.1%.

This sector continues to report weaker than anticipated revenue yields, with

indications that the slow economic recovery in our key source markets and a

softening of forward bookings does not give comfort for any immediate

turnaround in profitability.

This sector will be further challenged in 2013 and beyond as the controversial Air

Passenger Duty (APD) has seen another hike effective April 01, 2013, making it

even more expensive for British holiday makers to travel to the Caribbean.

The International Business Sector

In recent times, this sector has found it necessary to publicly air concern about the

manner in which the local regulators have been addressing issues raised by the

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OECD and other international agencies; this sector produces more than half of all

Government corporate tax revenues. While Government assures that all the

necessary steps are being taken to reverse the identified trends, recovery in this

sector is also proving to be slower than anticipated.

Barbados’ strategy in this sector is mounted jointly with the Central Bank of

Barbados and the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA), and

comprises intensified marketing in Canada, together with penetration of new

markets in Latin America and elsewhere. Initiatives are designed to take advantage

of Barbados’ network of double taxation agreements, to leverage traditional and

non-traditional markets in areas such as mining, oil and gas, renewable energy,

wealth management, captive insurance and medical services.

The Sugar Agriculture Sector

Negotiations for a new Wages and Conditions contract covering the period

January 2011 to December 2012, commenced against the background of sustained

weak financial performance and reliance on continuing Government Price Support

payments; to date, no agreement has been reached as negotiations were unofficially

placed on the back-burner, pending on-going debates surrounding the

restructuring of the sector.

The 2012 sugar harvest started on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, and lasted for

fourteen (14) weeks. The outturn production was:

Total tonnage of canes reaped - 258,600.61

Total tonnage of sugar produced - 24,526.15

Total length of harvest - 16 weeks

The 2013 sugar harvest started on March 06, 2013 and the following projections

have been given:

Total tonnage of canes targeted - 202,941

Total tonnage of sugar targeted - 18,449

Total projected length of harvest - 12 weeks

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The sugar industry continues to show declining performance and yields.

Chinese and Japanese investors have expressed interests in working with the

Government on programmes to re-vitalize the sugar industry, and we await the

outcome of those discussions.

Public Sector Negotiations

Review of Compensation, Benefits and Terms & Conditions for the two year

period April 01, 2010 to March 31, 2012 were deferred, in recognition of the state

of public finances.

Negotiations on an extended agreement to cover the period April 01, 2012 to

March 31, 2014 are still to get going in earnest.

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Outlook for 2013

The projections for 2013 continue to be clouded by uncertainty about the pace and

robustness of the recovery in the North American, United Kingdom and

Eurozone markets on which Barbados’ tourism and international financial and

business sectors depend. The Barbadian economy is expected to expand by

approximately 0.7 % during 2013, predicated on growth in the tourism sector and

as other key sectors rebound.

It is the considered opinion of the Confederation that the authorities need to take

some urgent action, particularly in the undernoted areas:

The issue of Youth Employment

Development of focused programmes for the sustainable development of the

Micro, Small and Medium sized business sectors.

Challenges with the implementation of the EPA

The moribund nature of CARICOM

The intensification of the process of meaningful Tripartite Social Dialogue and

more collaborative problem solving of the economic and fiscal challenges

facing the economy.

General

During 2010, the Confederation, with the assistance of the ILO Sub-regional

Office for the Caribbean, undertook an Organizational Review in April 2010. The

objective of this review was to assess if the operations of the Confederation

are set up and conducted in the most effective way to the best advantage of

the organization and its stakeholders leading to long-term sustainability.

Out of this exercise we identified the need to develop a current Strategic Plan to

focus our attention on building a sustainable long term enterprise. Work on this

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project progressed during 2011 and 2012 and an aggressive work plan for the

Secretariat was approved by Council for the period commencing January 2012 and

beyond.

We continue to build strategic relations and implement a vigorous campaign of re-

engaging with our members; courtesy calls continued to be made by the Executive

Director and the Industrial Relations Officers to our members during the review

period.

Legislation

Increasingly, advocacy on legislative issues is becoming the single largest area of

work for the BEC. We continued to press for further discussion on the

Employment Rights Bill, the Shops Order 2007, the Shops Act and the Minimum

Wage for Shop Assistants during 2012.

Employment Rights Act, 2012 - A comprehensive review of the Draft

Employment Rights Bill was completed by the Confederation in July 2011 which

culminated with meetings with the staff of the Ministry of Labour, including staff

of the Labour Department, in July and August 2011.

It had been our strong recommendation that this draft instrument be brought back

to the Social Partners, before being laid in Parliament; this request was recognised

and agreed to by the late Prime Minister, the Hon. David Thompson, Q.C., when

he addressed our 2010 Luncheon on April 21, 2010. Regrettably, the draft

Employment Rights Bill 2012 was placed on the Order Paper of Parliament in

January 2012, without the agreed further review of either ourselves or the Labour

movement. The Bill had its first reading in Parliament on April 24, 2012 and

subsequently passed in May, 2012, with a Proclamation date to be announced.

Green Paper on Immigration Policy Reform - In October 2009, the

Government of Barbados gave notice of its intention to table a Green Paper on

the Comprehensive Review of the Immigration Policy, and invited comment. The

scope and time offered for comment were both extended. The Confederation

sought feedback from its members on areas which may be of specific interest or

concern to them. We have lobbied to have this Green Paper discussed at the level

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of the Social Partners, before any definitive proposals are taken to Parliament; no

such consultations have been held to date.

Minimum Wages Legislation - Discussion on the Minimum Wages for

Shop Assistants was held during 2011 and after some delays, the new Minimum

Wages Order was published and became effective April 05, 2012. It had also been

advised that the current level would have been subject to further review during

2012, but definitive dates for commencement of the review have yet to be

indicated.

While recommendations have been made by the Wages Council for the

establishment of a Minimum Wage Board, no further discussions have taken place

on its establishment.

Occupational Pension Benefits Act - Effective February 2011, the

Occupational Pension Benefits Act was proclaimed. The work required to have

existing Pension Plans become compliant with the provisions of the Act continued

throughout 2012 and the various Consulting Actuaries have been working closely

with Plan Administrators and the staff of the Financial Services Commission to

have the significant volume of work required, expeditiously completed.

Holidays with Pay Bill, 2012 - After a break in discussions of

nearly six (6) years, the Minister of Labour and Social Security gave notice of the

introduction of a new Holidays with Pay Bill, 2012 which was placed on the Order

Paper of Parliament, without any prior consultation with the Social Partners; the

previous documented discussions were held in 2006 when discussions centered

around a few Amendments to the original Act.

After vigorous lobbying by the secretariat of the BEC on behalf of the Barbados

Private Sector Agency, the Ministry of Labour deferred Parliamentary discussion

on the Bill, pending the conduct of a comparative analysis of similar pieces of

legislation across the English speaking Caribbean.

A further meeting on this item scheduled for December 09, 2012 was aborted and

subsequently not brought back for discussion after the dissolution of Parliament as

the way was made for the General Elections. Discussions are set to continue

during May 2013.

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Strategic Partners

International Organization of Employers (IOE) - During 2012 we continued

to benefit from our membership of the IOE. This membership allowed us to

benefit from the exchange of useful information provided on current worldwide

economic trends.

International Labour Office (ILO) - We continued to work closely with the

ILO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean and the Ministry of Labour as the

country developed the Decent Work Country Programme.

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) - The President of the

ACP-EU Follow-Up Committee of the European Economic and Social

Committee (EESC), Ms. Brenda King, announced the appointment of Mr. Tony

Walcott, Executive Director of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation to the

subject committee from October 2010 until March 2013.

The ACP-EU Follow-Up Committee is composed of twelve (12) EESC members

and twelve (12) representatives of ACP members, who represent a variety of civil

society organizations. This Follow-Up Committee acts as an official interlocutor

vis-à-vis the political authorities of the Contonou Partnership.

The Follow-Up Committee meets twice a year on average.

Mr. Walcott’s appointment to this committee was proposed by the International

Organization of Employers (IOE) which is based in Geneva; he represents Group

1 – Employers of the ACP grouping.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a European Union

consultative body, set up in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome. It is made up of

representatives of the various economic and social players in civil society, known

collectively as organised civil society. The Committee’s main task is to advise the

EU’s three major institutions: Commission, Council and Parliament. This it does

primarily through delivering formal opinions on the European Commission’s

legislative proposals and on EU policy in general as it affects the economy and

society.

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The EESC has three complementary tasks: first, to increase the involvement of

civil society organisations in the European venture; second, to help bridge the gap,

through its activities and its members, between the European Union and citizens;

and, third, to boost the role of civil society organisations in non-European

countries, and country groupings.

The EESC’s members belong to one of three groups: employers, employees and

various interests. In the Committee there are members from many different

backgrounds including entrepreneurs, workers, bankers, farmers, people from craft

industries, SMEs, the professions, consumer associations, representatives of

disabled and socially excluded persons, social economy actors and environmental

campaigners. Members themselves choose which of the EESC groups they wish to

join.

Members are not paid for their work with the EESC (though their travel and

accommodation costs are covered when they attend), and they normally carry on

with their regular activities in their home country.

Regional Partners - On the regional level we continued our participation in the

Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC). The President and Executive

Director participated in the work of the Directors of the CEC in the development

and finalization of the Strategic Plan for the CEC for the period 2011-2016.

The Executive Director has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the CEC

at the 53rd Annual General Meeting held in Suriname on April 08, 2013.

National Partners - Nationally we continued our participation in the Social

Partnership, and enhanced our already close working relationship with the

National HIV/AIDS Commission, the National Vocational Training Board,

the TVET Council, the Barbados Accreditation Council, the National

Insurance Scheme the Productivity Council, the Barbados Community

College and similar organizations.

Regrettably, when the new Board of the National HIV/AIDS Commission was

created, the accredited representative of the Employers was not offered a seat to

represent our interests.

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We also continued to play a lead role in the Barbados Private Sector Association

(BPSA).

Information and Public Relations

We were unable to sustain the publication of weekly articles in the Barbados

Business Authority during 2012; however, discussions were finalised during the

year to have these articles re-introduced and these are now appearing on a regular

weekly basis.

We encourage and solicit contributions from our members for publication.

We continued to publish our newsletters BEC@Work and the OSH Digest.

Our staff members were also invited by other national organizations and other

groups to address their meetings.

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SMALL BUSINESS & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The mandate of the BEC includes the development of employment opportunities

as a vehicle towards national development. Consequently, the BEC consistently

works with small entrepreneurs to provide invaluable assistance as they seek to

formalize and strengthen their organisations. Many members of the BEC are small

organisations, therefore being able to understand some of the challenges faced by

these entrepreneurs will afford the opportunity to offer more tailored solutions

that meet their needs.

Throughout the year in review, a consistent increase in small and micro business

utilizing the services of the BEC was noted. The areas of greatest need were

human resource services including drafting of correspondence, preparing policy

documents and writing employment contracts and job descriptions. The provision

of these services has proven to be very useful especially given that many small

businesses do not possess the in-house capacity to perform those functions that

are necessary in an increasingly formal environment.

Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Skills

In 2012 the BEC participated in an ILO study of the Enabling Environment for

Small Enterprises (EESE) in Barbados. The results of the study were shared with

the business community and government officials via a breakfast dissemination

conference in May 2012. An area that was highlighted for further development by

the study was that of entrepreneurial culture. In October 2012, two (2) BEC

representatives participated in a tripartite workshop, chaired by ILO Enterprise

Specialist Mr. Kelvin Sargeant, which considered the results of the EESE study

and identified the improvement of management skills of start-up companies as an

action item that should be pursued.

To this end the BEC, in collaboration with ILO, held an Enterprise Skills

Workshop from February 26-28, 2013. This workshop was aimed at budding

entrepreneurs and sought to empower them with skills to succeed in business.

Additionally three (3) BEC officers participated in the venture which positioned

the BEC to offer similar interventions in the future.

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Member Visits

After a very successful training intervention on sales and selling techniques, from

January 2013 the officers of the BEC have embarked upon a programme of

member visitations. This was done with the intention of ensuring continued

relevance to the membership and facilitating queries. By visiting businesses, a

greater appreciation of challenges and successes were attained and it afforded an

avenue to raise any issues or concerns.

Response to Issues

Open Forums

Open Forums continue to be useful in addressing areas of member concerns. In

December 2012 an open forum was held, titled “Unhealthy Employee = Sick

Company”, which featured The Hon. Donville Inniss, M.P., Minister of Health as

the guest speaker. Additionally, “Making Cents of Pensions”, which featured

presentations by the National Insurance Department, Financial Services

Commission and Eckler Partners was held in January 2013.

During the remainder of 2013, there are plans to host open forums on the topics

of “Understanding National Insurance Benefits and Substance Abuse in the

Workplace”.

Policy Notes & Position Papers

There are various HR and IR issues that our members have to address on which

there is no guiding legislation. To this end, the BEC had embarked upon preparing

and issuing guidance documents which provide useful information that is

grounded in research of best practice, custom and legislative requirements. To date

circulars have been sent on procedures in the event of a national strike and

Election Day requirements. Work is currently on-going in the areas of sick leave

and alcohol and substance abuse and we hope to release guidance documents on

these critical areas in the near future.

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Communication

During the past year, the BEC improved its channels of communication with its

membership and the wider public. A new and completely redesigned website was

launched in August 2012 which has afforded greater web presence and ease of

access of information.

The website has been complemented by the new mailing system which is now in

use and our reach has increased as the mailing list continues to grow.

Members and friends of the BEC are kept informed of activities through the

monthly newsletter, BEC@Work, and topical and useful information is

disseminated through the weekly column in the Barbados Business Authority.

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Collective Bargaining

2012 continued to be another difficult year for businesses in Barbados as well as

the wider world. Global economies continued to worsen, putting added pressure

on the local economy. Additionally, several local businesses continued their

struggle to simply break even, and felt the pressures of reduced spending from

consumers, both individuals and businesses.

During the year, fifteen (15) collective agreements were concluded and wage

settlements for some organizations contained no increases for some part of the

agreement period, with the maximum increase being 5%. Further details of the

wage settlements during the period can be seen further in the report.

Due to unsustainability, six (6) BEC member organizations closed their doors

within the period under review, causing several persons to lose their jobs. While

full details can be found below, the largest number of persons sent to the breadline

by any one company was 500 at Almond Beach Village.

In 2012, the Barbados Employers’ Confederation welcomed the following new

members:

Summit International Louis Seale &Co. Ltd.

Sandy Crest Medical Ocean Breeze Resort Ltd.

Rayside Construction W.O.M. Inc/ Just Grillin’

Marsh Management Services (B’dos) Ltd Shelbury Construction

G-Tech Global Services City& Guilds Caribbean

Supreme Distributors Inc Warrens Preschool Inc.

Ansa Mcal Group of Companies Lenstec (Barbados) Inc.

New Proposals were received for the following member companies to commence

negotiations with the Barbados Workers’ Union, these were:

Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Ltd.

Berger Paints

Rentokil

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The following companies were referred to the Labour Department for

conciliation:

Standard Distributors

Sandy Lane Hotel

Hinds Transport Services Ltd.

Unicomer (Barbados) Ltd

Barbados Conference Services Ltd.

At December 31, 2011, discussions were ongoing to conclude the following

collective agreements:

Berger Paints

Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union

Seawell Air Services Ltd.

Roberts Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

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Wage Settlements 2012

#

Company

Effective Date

Duration

Settlement

1.

Barbados Bottling Company

April 1, 2011

Two (2) years

3% + 4% compounded

2.

Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association

December 15, 2009

Three (3) years

Retroactive Pay for Dec. 2010 – March, 2012 to commence in April, 2012. 0% + 3% +0%

3. Bayview Hospital

April 1, 2012

Two (2) years

4% + 2%

4.

Berger Paints

July 01, 2009

Three (3) years

3% + 2 ½% + 2%

5.

Carlisle Laboratories Limited

July 01, 2012

Three (3) years

2.5% + 3% + 3%

6.

Caribbean Confectionary

August 01, 2012

Two (2) years

2.25% Lump sum + 2.5%

7.

City of Bridgetown Co-op Credit Union July 01, 2011 Two (2) years 3% + 3%

8.

Codrington Trust

August 1, 2011

Two (2) years

3% + 2% compounded

9. Coles Printery

April 01, 2012

Two (2) years

3% + 3%

10.

Collins Limited

July 01, 2012

Three (3) years

2.5% + 3% + 3%

11. Crown Packaging January 01, 2012

Three (3) years

1% + 2.5% + 2.5%

12.

DHL (Barbados) Limited

April 1, 2012

Two (2) years

2.5 + 2.5% with Merits system

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Work Stoppages

There were eleven (11) reported work stoppages which occurred throughout the public and private sectors in 2012. These can be viewed below.

WORK STOPPAGES 2012

Date

Company

No. of Workers

Man-days lost

Reason

January

Alexandra Secondary School

30+

15 days

Industrial action citing grievances with present Principal, Mr. Jeff Broomes.

February 6

National Employment Bureau

21

1 day

Issues relating to air and water quality within office building.

March 19

Welfare Department, Land Tax, Data Processing Department and Barbados Statistical Service

100+

1 day

Issues relating to air quality and irritated and itching skin.

March

Pom Marine

1 day

Sympathy Strike re: Wrongful dismissal of fellow employee.

April 18

Alexandra Secondary School

25+

3 days

Industrial action citing grievances with present Principal, Mr. Jeff Broomes.

Break-down in wage

13. Moore Paragon April 01, 2012 Two (2) years 5% + 3.5%

14.

Purity Bakeries

April 27, 2011

Three (3) years

2.5% + 2.5% + 2.5%

15.

Rum Refinery of Mount Gay

April 01, 2012

Two (2) years

3% + 3%

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May 3 LIME 100+ 2 days agreement between the Management and BWU.

May 21

National Assistance Broad

100+

3 days

Protest over unfair and biased appointment.

August 27

National Cultural Foundation

1 day

Sick out due to late payment of salaries to employees.

September 10

National Sports Council

20+

2 hours

Protest over unfair and biased appointment.

October 15

Wakefield Plantation

25+

1 day

Protest against tax deductions from Incentive Pay.

October 25

Barbados Tourism Authority

2 hours

Issues relating to conditions of the building occupied by the staff (SBS)

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TRAINING Seminars/Workshops

Our training program continued to receive interest both for registration for the

various programs and as provision for in-house training.

In addition, requests for In-House training have increased during the past twelve

(12) months as compared to the previous period.

This increased interest and activity is reflected in our Training Revenues for 2012

as seen below:

Net Training Income - 2011 - $ 12,140

Net Training Income - 2012 - $160,659

Open Enrollment

The Barbados Employers’ Confederation sought to diversify its training offerings

in 2012, while our flagship training intervention titled Stepping into Supervision

and Management is quite popular, discussions with our membership throughout

the course of 2011 highlighted the need for a wider variety of training programmes

to be offered.

Therefore, in addition to Stepping into Supervision and Management which was

offered in both March and September of 2012, the BEC also hosted workshops in

the following areas:

Creative Human Resource Solutions to deal with economic issues

Disaster Management

The Contract of Employment

Managing in a Trade Union Environment

Employee and Employer Rights

Writing Skills for Managing People

Terminations - The Right and Wrong way

Employment Rights Act

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Occupational Health and Safety

Conducting Employee Discipline

Further, the Secretariat undertook the task of ensuring that a yearly training

schedule is created, and published by October of the preceding year. 2012 was the

first year in which this initiative was successful, and training offerings for the year

2013 include:

Occupational Health and Safety- A Checklist for SHaW Compliance

The “How to Guide” to productive Meetings

Managing Conflict

Terminations- The Right and Wrong Way

Writing Skills for Managing People

Managing for Success (Formerly Stepping into Supervision and Management)

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems- A Joint Approach

Conducting Employee Discipline

Understanding Labour Law and Legislation

Elements of Effective Supervision

Business Disaster Planning

Emotional Intelligence

In House Training

Within the period May 2012- May 2013, several companies also requested in house

training session for their employees.

The following companies undertook in house training in the period under review:

Sagicor General

Barbados Port Inc

Art Holdings Ltd.

ANSA McAL

Barbados Shipping and Trading

Inter- American Development Bank

Guardian General Insurance Ltd.

Hilton Barbados Resort

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These training sessions covered a range of topics, including the Employment

Rights Act, Safety and Health at Work, Employee Relations, Managing Conflict,

Writing Skills and Employee Discipline.

The beginning of 2013 has seen increased interest in these in house sessions, as

organizations seek to train employees, while still containing their costs. All

programmes which the BEC offers, including open enrollment sessions, can be

conducted in house, at the request of members.

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SAFETY & HEALTH

Occupation Safety and Health

Capacity Building

The BEC has continued to pay significant attention to the area of Occupational

Safety & Health (OSH) throughout the preceding year. Sean Daniel, the BEC’s

newest IRO brought OSH specific training and experience to the Confederation

and has been instrumental in the getting the BEC to become involved in the local

implementation of the GHS (The Globally Harmonized System of

Classification & Labeling of Chemicals). Workshops in November 2012 (12th

& 13th) and March 2013 (5th to 7th) have increased the capacity of the BEC to

adequately advice its members on the requirements related to chemicals in the

workplace.

Apart from the GHS Workshops, the BEC’s Safety Lead also attended in October

2012, a regional Tripartite training event in Port- of- Spain, hosted by the

International Labour Organisation’s Sub-Regional Office which was entitled and

focused on, Optimizing Productivity in Safe & Healthy Workplaces. This Seminar

was useful as it examined in some detail the means by which effective safety and

health policies can and do improve enterprise productivity.

Participation in Pre–Proclamation National Awareness Drive

The proclamation of the long awaited Safety & Health at Work Act (SHaW) on

January 1, 2013, has created a more modern legislative framework for ensuring safe

and healthy workplaces in Barbados. Prior to the proclamation there was a

significant three month long promotion. The BEC was deeply involved and were

ably represented by Mr. Daniel on CBC’s The Peoples Business & Morning

Barbados broadcasts, and again at the culminating event in Heroes Square in

December 2012. Here the BEC’s message to the nation was that employers

embrace the legislation but also expect improved Productivity following the

increased investments in OSH.

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Training

The certainty of proclamation motivated increased demand for training in the area

of Safety & Health. The BEC provided informative and thought provoking

sessions for the benefit of employers on the OSH; these are listed below

Date

Title

Participants

November 21, 2012

Managing Occupational Health

(Tripartite Event)

Eighty (80) +

December 5, 2012

Open Forum Unhealthy

Employee=Sick Company

Eighty (80)

February 21, 2013

A Checklist for SHaW

Compliance

Sixty-five (65)

February 25,26,27,28, 2013

ANSA-McAL Managers Training

Re: SHaW

Eighty (80) +

February 26, 2013

Presentation to HR Professionals

at Week of Excellence

Eighty (80) +

March 21, 2013

A Checklist for Shaw Compliance

Sixty (60)

New Services Added

Since January 2013 the BEC has been able to offer some new services in the area

of Occupational Safety & Health. These services are currently in high demand and

are expected to continue to contribute to maintaining revenue during these

recessionary times.

The new services include; development of new OSH Policy documents, reviewing

existing OSH Policy documents, conducting Risk Assessment Survey and

providing an Assessment Report, general and customised OSH training solutions

for companies.

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HIV/AIDS and the World of Work

Change in Focus

There has been a conscious decision made by the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the

BEC to review what has been done in the past with a view to having an employers’

focused program. The desire is to have a program that goes beyond increasing

awareness in potential new entrants to the workforce to a program which targets

the BEC members’ workplaces, with impactful programs which have the potential

to change behaviour.

With the proclamation of the SHaW legislation the Joint Health & Safety

Committee will be formed in many businesses. This committee is seen as the ideal

vehicle to ensure that HIV/AIDS and other Life Threatening Illnesses (LTIs) are

addressed in an open and mature manner free from any stigma or discrimination.

The Joint Health & Safety Committee is required by law and is well placed to

propel programs and assist with research in each enterprise.

The review has been slower than anticipated, however, with the assistance of the

new Research Assistant, Ms. Brittany Braithwaite it is expected that there will soon

be adequate research data collected and analysed to finalise plans for HIV/AIDS

programming in the local workplace. One of the goals of the BEC HIV/AIDS

program is to have the capacity to provide up to date statistics on HIV/AIDS

related activity within the membership of the BEC. This requires development of a

data collection instrument which is completed and then the collection and

processing of data, this is expected to be done between June and August 2013.

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MAJOR CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS ACP-EU Follow-up Committee Meeting, Brussels - February 27-29, 2012

This meeting was held in Brussels and funded by the European Economic and Social Committee, an organ of the European Union. The BEC was represented by the Executive Director, Tony Walcott. Caribbean Employers’ Confederation 52nd Annual General Meeting – May 02, 2012

This meeting was held in Jamaica. A major item on the agenda was the review of the organization’s Strategic Plan for the five year period 2011 – 2016, the election of a new President, Mr. Wayne Chen and approving the budget and work plan for the secretariat.

International Labour Conference (ILC) - May 28 - June 14, 2012

At the 101st Session of the International Labour Conference held from May 28 - June 14, 2012, the Government of Barbados continued to serve on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Body.

Preliminary meetings of the Employers’ Group preceded the Official Opening of

the ILC 2012 on Tuesday, 29 May 2012; these were held in the Governing Body

Room at the ILO Headquarters at 10:00 and 16:30.

Preliminary meetings were also held of the Workers’ Group and the Government

members during that same day of Tuesday, 29 May 2012.

The Official Barbados Delegation was made up as follows:

Government Delegates, Advisers and substitute delegates

Mr. Andrew Cox, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social

Security (Delegate)

Mr. Vincent Burnett, Chief labour Officer, Ministry of Labour and Social

Security (Delegate)

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Ambassador Dr. Marion Williams, Permanent Representative, Permanent

Mission, Geneva (Adviser and substitute delegate)

Mrs. Emalene Marcus-Burnett, Counsellor, Permanent Mission, Geneva

(Adviser and substitute delegate)

Employers’ Delegate

Mr. Colin A. Walcott, Executive Director, Barbados Employers’

Confederation

Workers’ Delegate

Ms. Toni Moore, Assistant General Secretary, Barbados Workers’ Union

(Delegate)

Sir Roy Trotman, General Secretary, Barbados Workers’ Union (Adviser and

substitute delegate)

The 101st Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) got underway on

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 with a Full Plenary sitting in the Assembly Hall of the

Palais des Nations (United Nations) at 10:00.

During the Opening Session, the business of the Conference was conducted which

included the election of the President and Officers of the Conference and

constitution of the various Committees of the Conference.

The Opening sitting broke at 11:30 for a Special sitting to receive an address by

Her Excellency Ms. Laura Chincilla Miranda, President of the Republic of Costa

Rica, after which the Plenary session resumed at 12:20 to receive the speech of the

Director General, Dr. Juan Somovia, who demitted office in September 2012.

For the year, the work of the Conference was done by the following committees:

Selection Committee

Committee on the Application of Standards

Committee on the Social Protection Floor

Committee on Youth Employment

Committee for the Recurrent Discussion on Fundamental Principles and

Rights

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The work of the various committees commenced on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at

13:00. Your Executive Director worked on the Committee on the Social

Protection Floor as a Titular (Voting) member and on the Committee on Youth

Employment as a Substitute (Non-Voting) member.

During the course of the Conference, the Employers’ Group met every morning

(09:00 – 10:00) to review the previous day’s work and agree any strategies to be

followed or positions to be taken in subsequent meetings of the various

committees.

Committee meetings generally concluded their day’s work by 19:30, including the

first Saturday of the Conference (June 02, 2012); there was no work done on

Sundays.

While the work of the committees is generally intense, they are able to reach

consensus by the end of the allotted time to complete their assigned work.

However, 2012, the work of the Committee for the Application of Labour

Standards failed to agree on a schedule of cases to be addressed, the first time since

1926! The impasse was driven by the Employers’ group challenge of the ILO and

the Workers’ interpretation of the “Right to Strike” provisions (or rather lack

thereof) in Convention 87 concerning Freedom of Association. A separate note

prepared by Christopher Syder, Employer spokesperson on this Committee was

made available for review.

During the normal course of the Conference, several side events and information

sessions are arranged on topics of general or specific concern to delegates and are

generally well attended.

The opportunity is also given to Ministers of Labour attending and delegates to

speak on the reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the

Director General; these reports are circulated before the start of the Conference.

Speeches are limited to five (5) minutes and this year, interventions were made by:

Sir Roy Trotman

Dr. Marion Williams

Dr. the Hon. Esther Byer-Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Social Security.

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Interventions were also made by other delegates from the Caribbean region

including:

Mr. Wayne Chen, President of the Jamaica Employers Federation and

President of the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation.

Mr. Lloyd Goodleigh, Workers’ delegate, Jamaica

The Hon. Errol McLeod, Minister of Labour, Trinidad

On June 07, 2012, the Barbados delegation accepted an invitation from Dr. Ana

Teresa Romero to have a luncheon meeting at which opportunities for South-

South and Triangular cooperation; further details of the development of the

programme will be provided to us in subsequent correspondence.

Addresses by Special Guests

One of the key features of the International labour Conference is the delivery of

addresses by Special Guests. This year, we had the benefit of having presentations

from the following speakers:

H. E. Mr. Mohamed Moncef Marzouki - President, Republic of Tunisia

H.R.H Felipe de Borbon y Grecia - Prince of Asturias, Spain

H. E. Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata - President, Republic of Zambia

H. E. Mr. Ollanta Humala Tasso - President, Republic of Peru

H. E. Mr. Ricardo Martinelli Beroccal - President of the Republic of

Panama

H. E. Mr. Giorgio Napolitano - President of the Italian Republic

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi - President of the National League

for Democracy and Member of Parliament, Republic of the Union of

Myanmar.

The Conference closed on Thursday, June 14 with the adoption of the following

reports:

Committee on the Social Protection Floor

Credentials Committee

Committee for the Recurrent Discussion on Fundamental Principles and Rights

Selection Committee (Myanmar)

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Application of Standards

Committee on Youth Employment.

In addition to the foregoing, there was also a Record vote on the Recommendation

concerning national floors of social protection; a copy of that record is available

for review on the ILO website.

Mr. Ferdinand Welzijn, 2nd Vice President of the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation was re-elected as the representative of Caribbean employers on the Governing Body of the ILO. The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) in describing the 2012 Conference said that while the outcomes will help employers, more thought needs to be given to enhancing the ILO’s visibility and relevance to its members. ILO Workshop on Social Dialogue, Trinidad & Tobago - June 26-27, 2012

At the invitation of the Minister of Labour, Trinidad and Tobago, the Hon. Errol McLeod, a Tri-Partite delegation was invited to visit and make presentations on the functioning of our Social Partnership here in Barbados; Trinidad and Tobago is now making a concerted effort to establish a structured framework for social dialogue. The Barbados delegation was made up of:

Sir Roy Trotman, General Secretary, Barbados Workers Union

Senator Harcourt Husbands, Parliamentary Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office

Mr. Tony Walcott, Executive Director, BEC ACP-EU Follow-up Committee - 12th Regional Seminar, Dominican

Republic - July 03-06, 2012

This seminar was held to review progress on preparations for the region to meet the various deadlines for full accessing of the provisions of the EU-CARIFORUM EPA.

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ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Suriname - November 26-29, 2012

This JPA is one of the regularly scheduled meetings of the grouping and is rotated amongst the member states. Against strong resistance by the EU Parliamentarians, CARICOM insisted that the meeting be held in Suriname. The Government of Barbados was represented by the Hon. Mara Thompson, M.P. Mr. Tony Walcott, as a member of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee was in attendance. ACP-EU Follow-up Committee Meeting, Brussels - December 05-07, 2012

This meeting was held in Brussels and funded by the European Economic and Social Committee, an organ of the European Union. The BEC was represented by the Executive Director, Tony Walcott.

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BEC REPRESENTATION ON BOARDS & COMMITTEES

Officers and personnel of the Confederation served as employers’ representatives on the following Boards, Committees and Councils. ECONOMICPOLICY Barbados Private Sector Association Mr. Ian Gooding-Edghill Mr. Tony Walcott CARICOM-CIDA Trade & Mr. Tony Walcott Competitiveness Project Committee of the Social Partners Mr. Ian Gooding-Edghill Mr. Tony Walcott Sub-Committee of the Social Partners Mr. Ian Gooding-Edghill Mr. Tony Walcott

Other Council members as are available

International Labour Organisation Mr. Tony Walcott National Productivity Council Mrs. Diana Douglas EDUCATION, TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT Advisory Council of the Barbados Mr. Tony Walcott Institute of Management & Productivity Barbados Accreditation Council Mr. Michael Best Barbados Vocational Training Board Mrs. Siobhan Robinson-Morris HRD Advisory Committee Dr. Hensley Sobers ILO Tripartite Committee (C144) Mrs. Gale Springer Mr. Tony Walcott Mr. Sean Daniel

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National Committee of the Mr. Tony Walcott Caribbean Examinations Council National Development Mr. Takaidza Chafota Scholarship Committee Ms. Sheena Mayers TVET Council Mrs. Dawn Jemmott-Lowe TVET Quality Assurance Committee Mrs. Siobhan Robinson-Morris TVET Standards Committee Mrs. Siobhan Robinson-Morris SAFETY & HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

HIV/AIDS Coordinators Mr. Takaidza Chafota Mr. Sean Daniel Ministry of Labour & Social Security Mr. Takaidza Chafota HIV/AIDS Core Group Mr. Sean Daniel National Advisory Committee on Mr. Grantley Haynes Occupational Safety & Health (NACOSH) SOCIAL SECURITY & WELFARE

Caribbean Employers’ Confederation Mr. Tony Walcott National Insurance Board Sir Allan Fields National Insurance Tribunals Mr. Keith Foster Mr. Tennyson Beckles Ms. Cathy Layne Mr. Tony Walcott Shops Wages Council Mr. Everton Browne Mrs. Kryel Roach

Mrs. Siobhan Robinson-Morris

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We welcomed the following new members in 2012

DIRECTV (BARBADOS) LTD.

Innotech Services Ltd.

TeleBarbados Inc.

CAPITA Financial Services Inc.

M & R Incorporated

Diamonds International

Summit International

Sandy Crest Medical Centre

Rayside Construction Limited

Shelbury Construction

G-Tech Global Services

Resignations in 2012

Lazy Days & Island Waves

Lasco (Barbados) Ltd

Sea Freight Agencies

Foster's Bakery

FIS Card Services (Caribbean) Ltd.

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BEC MEMBERSHIP TRADE GROUPS

Construction & Allied Services Group

Brian Parsons Ltd. Bjerkham Associates Ltd. C O. Williams Construction Ltd Edghill Associates Ltd. EHC Barbados Inc Everson R Elcock & Co Ltd Mahy.Ridley Hazzard Engineers

Nicholls & Edghill Ltd Platinum Systems Inc

Preconco Ltd. Rentokil Initial (Barbados) Ltd Rotherly Construction Inc. Stantec Consulting Inc TMR Sales & Services Ltd

Distribution Group

A.C Fruit Growers Armstrong Agencies B & B Distribution Ltd Barbados Shipping & Trading Brydens Distribution Collins Ltd C L Gibbs & Co. Ltd DaCosta Mannings Inc Duty Free Caribbean DWise Inc (Dollar Wise) Facey (Barbados) Firgos Eastern C’bean Ltd F.W Woolworth Gatsby Incorporated Gildan Activewear SRL

Goddard Enterprises Ltd Hanschell Inniss Ltd H.Jason Jones & Co. Ltd H N Rogers Stationery Ltd Knights Pharmacies Pilgrim Business Ventures PriceSmart R L Seale & Co Ltd SBI Distributions Inc S.P Musson & Sons Co Ltd Standard Distributors Ltd Stokes & Bynoe Ltd Super Centre Ltd Unicomer (B’dos) Ltd

Garage Group

Courtesy Garage Ltd McEnearney Quality Inc

Simpson Motors Ltd

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Manufacturers Group

A C Woodhouse Inc ADM Barbados Mills Arawak Cement Co. Ltd Agro Chemicals Inc Barbados Bottling Co. Ltd Barbados Dairy Industries Ltd. Barbados Packaging Industries Ltd. Banks Breweries Barbados Ltd. Berger Paints B’dos Ltd BICO Ltd Caribbean Confection Co. Ltd CaribSupply (B’dos) SRL Carlisle Laboratories Ltd COEM Limited Cole’s Printery Ltd Crown Packaging Barbados Ltd Doyle Offshore Sails Ltd Drinks Plus Ltd

ECAF Products Ltd Gales Agro Products Ltd. Good Times Snacks Ltd Harris Paints Ltd HIPAC Ltd McBride Caribbean Ltd Moore Paragon Ltd Mount Gay Rum Distilleries Peronne Manufacturing Ltd Plastic Containers Ltd Purity Bakeries Ready Mix Ltd Roberts Manufacturing Co Ltd Rose & LaFlamme Ltd Rum Refinery of Mount Gay Ltd Tiny Tots Ltd Trowel Plastics Ltd. West India Biscuit Co Ltd West India Rum Distillery

Hospitality Services Group

Airport Restaurants Ltd Altman Real Estate Barbados Conference Services Barbados Golf Club Barbados Tourism Investment Barbados Yacht Club Beach House (The)

Caves of Barbados Co Ltd Chefette Restaurants Ltd Chicken Barn Ltd Ellco Rentals Ltd Goddard’s Catering Group Pauls Enterprises Waterfront Café

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Financial Services Group

Bank of Nova Scotia Bayshore Bank & Trust

Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Barbados Workers Union Credit Union

BS&T Employees Cooperative Credit Union Central Bank of Barbados

City of Bridgetown Cooperative Credit Union Co-operators General Insurance Co Ltd

FirstCaribbean International Bank First Citizen Bank Barbados Ltd (formerly Butterfield Bank)

Guardian Insurance Ltd Insurance Corporation of Barbados

Pan American Life & General Insurance Co. Republic Bank Barbados Ltd. (formerly B’dos National Bank)

Republic Bank Mortgage Centre (formerly B’dos Mortgage Finance) RBC Royal Bank (Barbados) Ltd. (merger of RBC & RBTT)

Sagicor Life Inc Trident Insurance Inc

United Insurance Co. Ltd

Ancillary Services

Barbados National Productivity Council BCB Communications Inc Barbados Business Machines Barbados Turf Club Bayview Hospital CARDI Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation Codrington Trust DHL Barbados Ltd

Ember Investments Inc Foursight Optical G4S Security Services Guardsman B’dos Global Directories Ltd Illuminat B’dos Ltd On-line Consultancies Regional Business Systems Secure Shred JLT Towner Insurance Mgmt

0


Travel, Utility & Energy Group Barbados Light & Power Co. Ltd Barbados National Oil Co. Ltd Barbados Port Inc Barbados National Terminal Co Barbados Water Authority British Airways Ltd C’bean Aircraft Handling Co Carib Rehab Ltd Digicel Barbados Ltd Esso Standard Oil S A Ltd

Foster & Ince Cruise Services Grantley Adams International Airport Inc LIAT (1974) Ltd LIME (formerly Cable & Wireless B’dos Ltd Rubis WI Caribbean Seawell Air Services Ltd Shell Western Supply & Trading Co SOL Barbados Ltd

Association of Employers

Barbados Agricultural Management Company Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association Barbados Small Business Association Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd Shipping Association of Barbados

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THE BARBADOS HOTEL & TOURISM ASSOCIATION Membership 2012

Accra Beach Hotel & Spa Discovery Bay Hotel

All Seasons Resort - Europa Divi Heritage

Almond Casuarina Divi Southwinds

Amaryllis Beach Resort Dover Beach Hotel

Angler Apts. Fairmont Royal Pavilion Hotel

Apes Hill Club Four Aces Apts & Cottages

Atlantis Hotel Golden Sands Hotel

Aquatica Beach Resort Barbados Great House (The)

Bayfield House Hilton Barbados

Beach View Condominium Hotel Hotel Pommarine

Best E Villas Island Inn Hotel

Blue Horizon Apt. Hotel Little Arches Hotel

Blue Orchids Beach Hotel Little Bay Hotel

Bougainvillea Beach Resort Little Good Harbour

Butterfly Beach Hotel Mango Bay Hotel

The Club Barbados Resort & Spa Nautilus Beach Apts.

Cobblers Cove Ocean Two Resort And Residences

Coconut Court Beach Hotel Ocean 15 Apartment Hotel

Colony Club Hotel Ocean Spray Beach Apartments

Coral Mist Beach Hotel Palm Garden

Coral Reef Club Pirate's Inn

(Ocean Breeze Resort Ltd Trading As) Port St. Charles

Coral Sands Beach Resort Rockley Plum Tree Club

Cove Spring House Rostrevor Apts.

Courtyard By Marriott Roundrock Apartments On Sea

The Crane Residential Resort Royal Westmoreland

Crystal Cove Hotel Salt Ash Apartments

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Sandpiper (The) Sunswept Hotel

Sandy Lane Hotel Sweetfield Manor Historic Bed & Breakfast

Sea Breeze Beach Hotel & Vacation Club Tamarind Cove Hotel

Seafoam Haciendas Time Out

Sea-U Private Guest House Travellers Palm Apts.

Seawinds Treasure Beach Hotel

Settlers Beach Villa Hotel Tropical Winds Apartment Hotel

Silver Point Villa Hotel Turtle Beach Resort

South Beach Resort Vineyard Suites (The)

South Gap Hotel Walmer Lodge Apts.

Southern Palms Beach Club Worthing Court Apartment Hotel

Sugar Cane Club Hotel Yellow Bird Hotel

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NOTES

Annual Report 2012 - Barbados Employers' ConfederationBarbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL...

Documents

Transcript of Annual Report 2012 - Barbados Employers' ConfederationBarbados Employers’ Confederation ANNUAL...