Remarks by
The Minister of Maritime Affairs & Labour
The Opening of the
ILO Tripartite Capacity Building Workshop
Freeport, Grand Bahama
3 December, 2007
Good Morning.
Let me begin by saying thank you for inviting me to open this Capacity-building Workshop on Labour Relations. As always, it is a pleasure for me to visitFreeport,Grand Bahama.
Assembled delegates, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to refer to a most important event in Bahamian history, namely the Burma Road Riots. What came to be known as theBurma Road Riots, began as a labour dispute, namely a discrepancy in pay amongst workers, based not on the quality of work, but instead on the color of the individuals skin. Disgruntlement turned to violence and during the ensuing riots, two people were killed, 25 wounded and property was destroyed.
Today, allowing labour relations to reach such a low point, would seem almost criminal. If The Bahamas is to remain competitive, it must have a workforce committed to national development, while at the same time minimizing industrial unrest.
The idea of Social Dialogue now seems so reasonable and just, one would have thought that it should have been implemented decades ago. The purpose of our Tripartite Fora on Labour is to foster Social Dialogue. At TRIFOR, government, organized labour and management associations are able to discuss fully and resolve amicably relevant issues of the day. In fact, in our most recently enacted labour legislations, The Health and Safety Act, The Employment Act and The Minimum Wages Act, it is mandated that the government consult with its social partners, before regulations can be implemented.
I strongly encourage each of you to recommend to your respective governments the implementation of the Social Dialogue model and enact and enforce the appropriate legislation. If our region in general, and the small island states of CARICOM, in particular, are to remain competitive globally, we must have a harmonized labour strategy, hence the need for this conference.
In closing, I would like to personally welcome each visiting delegate to The Bahamas and thank the ILO for choosing Grand Bahama, our nation’s second most populous island, on which to hold this event. I hope that this workshop will be both productive and insightful.
Thank you.
