The minimum wage Bill

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Parent Category: Sept 2011

Category: Week ending Sept 10th, 2011

Published on Tuesday, 13 September 2011 10:49

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EDITORIAL:

The pendulum continues to swing fully in favour of labour under the current Tillman Thomas-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government. That claim to fame once belonged entirely to the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) under the late, Sir Eric Gairy whom many regard highly as an outstanding social revolutionary for his successful fight for better wages for rural and blue collar workers in the 50’s and 60’s.

 Needless to say, his administration was overthrown by a group using the cause of the people to camouflage its alien Marxist ideology which eventually landed the country in a major crisis.

 In a recent Editorial captioned:  “LIAT strike was back-to-front”, THE NEW TODAY made the following point: “Businesses operate purely on a symbiotic relationship between “Labour” and “Capital” (employees and investors/entrepreneurs).  No party is more important than the other...”

 “We also said then “... Representatives of Labour need to shift focus from making demands on behalf of their members as if they were the only things that matter. This is a 50/50 relationship so each must operate with balance.” 

 All the above is said in order to put into perspective the recent announcement by our Minister of Labour in an address about the increase in the minimum wage for certain categories of workers to include Security Guards.

 This paper recognises the nature of the work done by security guards and the need for them to be properly and adequately compensated for their mostly twelve-hour/six days per week shift.  

 However, one cannot equally deny that the Business Community is also concerned about the lack of discipline of so many Security Guards who continue to show up late, call in sick, not show up at all without any follow-up call, sleep while on duty and in many cases display absolutely no clue about their terms of reference (in spite of being adequately trained by their employers).

 The dishonesty that abounds among them is also serious cause for concern as many of them have been suspected to be part of an organised crime network and work against the very places they are sometimes employed to protect.

 There are security guards who accepted the job knowing that they are employed elsewhere during the day and are content to show up at their various sites for night duties at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. and around 10:00 p.m. tuck themselves in some little hole to sleep for the rest of the night. 

 Are the unions who represent them and the Ministry of Labour aware of this totally dishonest practice?

 If they are, did they have a serious talk with security guards nationwide about that totally unacceptable practice before jacking up their hourly wage by almost 100%?

 In the recent Editorial referred to earlier, THE NEW TODAY categorically stated: “Things are already hard, and everyone must make every conscious effort to live within their means. Employees must be told as a means of reinforcement (by their unions) of the importance of delivering an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage.”

 While the current Minister of Labour who is known to pander to the wishes of a certain union BOSS (who many believe is the defacto Minister) was meeting with owners and managers of security outfits, we are told that not even a glass of water was offered to them to drink. 

 But as soon as the announcement for the almost 100% increase for security guards was ready to be announced - a big spread was reportedly put on for the regular guards at a location in the south.

 What signal does that send to business owners? Is someone looking to embark on a vote-catching and vote-getting exercise with the next general election in mind?

 The action of this senior minister of government gives the impression that she is going out of her way to prove the Opposition claim that her Congress government is really anti-investor and anti-business.

 THE NEW TODAY is not opposed in principle to a review of the minimum wage bill for all category of workers in the country especially those at the lower end. However, the timing has to be right. Politics is all about timing.

 One can expect employers to react in a certain way given the 90 day grace period set aside by the State in order for the almost 100% increase in wages for security guards to begin to take effect.

 Our fear is under the pretext of restructuring, most employers whose annual budgets are already cast in concrete for their financial year, would lay-off some of the very security guards who expect to see a significant “top-up” in their salaries.

 This penny wise and pound foolish decision by NDC in these trying times bears the fingerprints and DNA of a certain strident union BOSS with extremely close ties with certain elements within the current administration of which the Minister of Labour is an integral part.

 Even if the target is the almost 100% increase, one would expect it to be tiered over time and not be expected to be delivered after a 90 day grace period or else - according to the Minister who outlined the penalties/consequences quite gallantly.

 Even the current government could not keep its $400.00 a month promise to persons who normally benefit from poor relief assistance programme.

 This so-called “pretend” concern for workers is all too similar to the camouflage of the PRG whose main concern was the enforcement of its alien ideology under the guise that it had the interest of workers at heart. 

 Security guards would do well to not gloat too soon as their joy could soon turn into sorrow with many of them becoming an integral part of our unemployment statistics in short order.

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