INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU) INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNISED CORE LABOUR STANDARDS IN BARBADOS REPORT FOR THE WTO GENERAL COUNCIL REVIEW OF TRADE POLICIES OF BARBADOS (Geneva, 9 and 11 July 2002) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Barbados has ratified all eight of the ILO s core labour conventions. Workers rights are protected by law and generally respected in practice in Barbados. However, there remains scope for improving legislation regarding the recognition of trade unions and prohibition of anti-union discrimination, as well efforts to end sexual harassment at work. Barbados has generally complied with the commitments it accepted at Singapore, Geneva, and Doha in the WTO Ministerial Declarations over 1996-2001, and in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted in June 1998. Barbados has ratified both of the core ILO conventions protecting trade union rights. While trade union recognition is generally straightforward and respected by employers, it is not mandated by law and thus workers right to join and form unions can be subject to pressure from employers. Also, while anti-union discrimination is prohibited, there remains insufficient protection of victims of such discrimination. Barbados has ratified both of the core ILO Conventions on discrimination. However, there continue to be isolated cases of discrimination against women, including sexual harassment at work. Barbados has ratified both of the core ILO conventions on child labour, and child labour does not generally occur. Barbados has ratified both the core ILO conventions on forced labour, and forced labour does not generally occur.
2 INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNISED CORE LABOUR STANDARDS IN BARBADOS Introduction This report on the respect of internationally recognised core labour standards in Barbados is one of the series the ICFTU is producing in accordance with the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the first Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) (Singapore, 9-13 December 1996) in which the Ministers stated: We renew our commitment to the observance of internationally recognised core labour standards. The fourth WTO Ministerial Conference (Doha, 9-14 November 2001) reaffirmed this commitment. These standards were further upheld in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the 174 member countries of the ILO at the International Labour Conference in June 1998. The ICFTU has one affiliate in Barbados, the Barbados Workers Union, with a membership of 15,000. Approximately 26 per cent of the workforce is unionised. I. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining Barbados ratified both ILO Convention no. 87, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, and ILO Convention no. 98, the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, in 1967. Both public and private sector workers are permitted to join and form trade unions. Workers right to collective bargaining is also provided for by law, but there is no specific requirement for the recognition of a union by an employer. While there is no general problem in practice with union recognition, in the late 1990 s, several foreign multinationals, including an American informatics multinational, Offshore Keyboarding Corporation, tried to exploit this legal omission in order to refuse recognition of their employees trade union. This incident caused such a furore in Barbados that even employers organisations distanced themselves from the activities of these few multinationals. There are broad legal protections of workers rights, including prohibition of anti-union discrimination, but insufficient redress for victims of such discrimination. Anti-union discrimination is not a
3 widespread problem in practice, but greater legal clarity would improve the situation, as is intended by the Employment Rights Bill, currently being debated. Workers in both the public and private sector can exercise their right to strike, excepting certain workers determined to be providing essential services. The ILO has asked that Barbados amend a law providing for imprisonment for breaking a contract, with the argument that this could be used against striking workers. Both the government and the national trade union centre have maintained that the law has never been used in this way and that this will remain the case. Freedom of association is widely respected in Barbados. Although minor legislative improvements should be made, workers are generally free to exercise their rights in practice. II. Discrimination and Equal Remuneration Barbados ratified both ILO Convention No. 100, Equal Remuneration Convention, and ILO Convention No. 111, Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention in 1974. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, religion or gender, and this is generally respected in practice. Women enjoy equal access to employment opportunities, and there is no noticeable discrepancy between educational attainment of boys and girls. Women are also well represented in senior positions in the workforce. However, there have been isolated cases of sexual harassment at work in Barbados. In response, the Barbados Workers Union has begun to include measures to stop sexual harassment in collective agreements, and the government is presently considering draft legislation to deal with the problem. Discrimination is not generally a problem in Barbados, except as concerns the limited incidence of sexual harassment at work. Unions, employers and the government are taking steps to address the problem. III. Child Labour Barbados ratified both ILO Convention No. 138, The Minimum Age Convention, and ILO Convention No. 182, The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, in 2000. The minimum age for employment is 16, and this is generally respected in practice. Education is free through tertiary level and compulsory through the age of 16. Child labour does not generally occur,
4 and the Labour Department conducts spot inspections to ensure that child labour laws are being respected. Child labour does not generally occur. IV. Forced Labour Barbados ratified both ILO Convention No. 29, The Forced Labour Convention, and ILO Convention No. 105, Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, in 1967. Forced labour is prohibited by the Constitution, and there are no reports that it occurs. Forced labour does not generally occur in Barbados. * * * * * * *
5 Conclusions 1. All eight of the ILO s core conventions have been ratified by Barbados, and the rights enshrined therein are generally well protected. 2. There remain some areas in which workers rights are not sufficiently protected in law, and in these cases, such as redress for victims of such discrimination, laws should be introduced. Pending draft legislation to this end should be adopted in the appropriate tripartite fora, and implemented with a minimum delay. 3. In line with the commitments accepted by Barbados at the Singapore WTO Ministerial Conference and its obligations as a member of the ILO, the Government of Barbados should therefore provide regular reports to the WTO and the ILO on its legislative changes and implementation programmes with regard to all the core labour standards. 4. The WTO should draw to the attention of the authorities of Barbados the commitments they undertook to observe core labour standards at the Singapore and Doha WTO Ministerial Conferences. The WTO should request the ILO to intensify its work with the Government of Barbados in these areas and provide a report to the WTO General Council on the occasion of the next trade policy review. * * * * * * * References Barbados Workers Union, various correspondence with ICFTU, 1998-2002 Comtex Newswire, Newswire press articles, various dates Education International, EI Barometer, 2001 Global March Against Child Labour, Country-wise Data on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, October 2000 ICFTU, Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, 1998-2001 ILO, Report of the Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations, 1995-2001 US Department of State, Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999-2001, 2000-2