Ministerial Statement: Mandatory Minimum Wage and Conditions for Tourist Accommodation Employees in Barbados
The Importance of the Tourism Industry in Barbados
For many years, the Tourism industry has been the mainstay of the Barbados economy. The industry can trace its roots to the 18th century, with Rachel Pringle Polgreen operating the Royal Navy Hotel in the late 1770s in Bridgetown. The modern Tourism Industry can be traced to the visionary leadership of the Barbados Labour Party and its founder, the now Right Excellent Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, and the Hotel Aids Act of 1956.
The industry has employed and continues to employ many people across a broad range of skills. It has earned and continues to earn a significant portion of the country’s foreign exchange. It has facilitated national development, and it has allowed us to share our heritage and way of life with the many persons from across the world who we invite to visit our shores. As a people-centred industry, it is necessary that those who create the experiences are valued, and that their ideas, their input, their work, their creativity, and their labour is valued.
History of Enslavement and the Importance of Clearing the Industry’s Past
Barbados emerged from two hundred years of the most heinous form of enslavement in human history inflicted by the English on Africans and people of African descent. Our post-emancipation experience during the one hundred years after the passage of the Emancipation Act was not a good one. This led to the people’s uprising of 1937. I grew up hearing discussions about the industry and references to service versus servitude. It is important that we be clear that our major industry is not tainted by the vestiges of a not-so-positive past.
Minimum Standards for Tourist Accommodation Employees
Mr. Jordan went on to say that some tourism corporations had reneged on prior agreements to pay wages equivalent to the union negotiated rate for the job, and that the addition of a ‘service charge’ to be added to tourist bills had been abused as some of the money involved had gone to managers and not to lower-level service providers. He went on to explain what the minimum standards will be going forward.
Conditions of Work
Some of the Conditions of Work, based on the existing Collective Agreement, are:
• Work schedules must be written.
• Additionally, other than in exceptional circumstances, written schedules must be posted and communicated to workers no later than 48 hours before the beginning of the work-week.
• A night differential of $1.50 shall be paid to an employee for every hour of his/her rostered or requested shift that falls between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
• An employee who works on his/her day-off (or rest day) shall be paid at double his/her normal rate of pay.
• Where split shifts are already in operation, there shall not be more than three (3) in a five (5) day work cycle. There are to be no new split shifts arrangements unless agreed between the workers and employers.
• Safety footwear, appropriate for the task, shall be provided by the employer to employees who are engaged as maintenance staff, stewards, kitchen staff, housemen, gardeners, and porters.
• Where an employer requires that a distinctive uniform is to be worn by an employee, at least three (3) changes of uniforms shall be provided to the employee on an annual basis by the employer, at no cost to the employee.
Rates of Pay
Under Rates of Pay, the minimum weekly rates (not including Service Charge) for some categories, based on the existing Collective Agreement, are as follows:
• Room Attendants in a Luxury establishment: $412.49
• General Worker in an A Class establishment: $340.00
• Bell Person in a B Class establishment: $340.00
• Receptionist in an A Class establishment: $399.53
• Waiter in a Luxury establishment: $447.33
• Storeroom Attendant in an A Class establishment: $369.19
• General Cook in a B Class establishment: $340.00
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Ministry of Labour is committed to ensuring that all tourist accommodation employees in Barbados are treated fairly and with respect. The minimum standards outlined in this statement are designed to protect the rights of employees and to promote a positive and healthy work environment.
FAQs
Q: What is the purpose of the minimum standards for tourist accommodation employees?
A: The purpose of the minimum standards is to ensure that all tourist accommodation employees in Barbados are treated fairly and with respect, and to promote a positive and healthy work environment.
Q: What are the conditions of work that will be implemented?
A: The conditions of work include written work schedules, night differential pay, double pay for working on day-off, and provision of safety footwear and uniforms.
Q: What are the rates of pay for tourist accommodation employees?
A: The minimum weekly rates for some categories, based on the existing Collective Agreement, are listed above.
Q: What is the significance of the Tourism industry in Barbados?
A: The Tourism industry is the mainstay of the Barbados economy, employing many people and earning a significant portion of the country’s foreign exchange.