Unproductive workers who get salary increases every year anyway, could soon find that they will be required to actually earn those pay hikes if employers are able to convince their tripartite partners to support the plan.
Tying salary increases more directly to workers’ productivity has emerged as a major issue, according to a leading labour attorney Reginald Lobosky.
“There should not be guaranteed increases without regard to productivity,” Mr. Lobosky told the Bahamas Business Outlook Conference on Monday.
It’s an issue that seems to share the plateau of priority with negotiations about the effects of shorter work weeks.
Justified salary increases has become the subject of prolonged discussions with employers, unionists and the government. However, employers apparently have not ruled out the occasional compensation to reflect inflation.
The bone of contention, according to Mr. Lobosky, is that industrial agreement after industrial agreement has enshrined provisions that guarantee wage increases each year, without any reference to whether they are justified.
It’s a substantial problem in the business community, he says, particularly with the Bahamas having a reputation as one of the highest priced labour environments in this hemisphere.
“This fact of life cannot continue to exist without placing seriously in jeopardy our economic prospects for the future,” he said.
Now, employers are lobbying for a productivity programme or policy which could vary from industry to industry. But the attorney was quick to point out that material or monetary gain has proven not to be the only necessary precursor to a successful productivity policy.
Last year, there was a national appeal from a coalition of private sector businesses to increase productivity, or risk adverse economic consequences.
In 2002, 81 percent of 96 companies interviewed admitted that productivity problems are adversely affecting their businesses.
The study also reported the top problems as poor work ethics, lax attitudes, ineffective management and time spent doing school runs.
It cautioned that the vices were likely to impact the Bahamas’ long term economic and social stability, pointing out that low productivity is a major element in the country’s inability to improve business performance and stimulate economic recovery.
“The greatest fear of the Coalition is not that our current level of productivity will keep our economy from growing, but that our current level of productivity will cause our economy to slide downwards,” researchers stated. “due to increased external competition, reducing the standard of living we enjoy today.”
It is especially important that these problems be addressed as the country prepares to sign on to the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the World Trade Organization agreements which would subject it to the rules of international competition, according to the Coalition.
The organizations that represent employers in the country have already submitted a fairly detailed document that spells out their concerns, becoming one of the things that has formed the basis of crucial tripartite talks.
The Bahama Journal
