The managing director at Bahamas Waste says proposed amendments to the Employment Act will not only increase his labor costs by 20 percent, but also lead to further “abuse” of the work week.
Francisco De Cardenas was just one of many vocal business leaders that gathered at the British Colonial Hilton late last week for the latest Sunrise Rotary Club session. This particular meeting, featuring a presentation from Selvin Basden, senior manager of human resources at Bank of The Bahamas (BOB), dealt specifically with the much-publicized Employment Act.
Cardenas told Guardian Business he attended the session because he has a number of concerns.
The top grievance among most business leaders is the formalization of the one-hour lunch period as inclusive of the work week. While 40 hours is generally agreed upon as the standard number of hours for the week, including a lunch break would effectively reduce productivity by five hours and lead to higher labor costs.
Certainly, the general mood at the Rotary’s last meeting was one of concern over the amendments. Also embedded into the new Employment Act would be a requirement for 24 hours of rest between shifts rather than 12. That change would present particular problems for some employers in the hospitality and service industry.
The country at large, however, should brace for “countless hours of debate on both sides of the divide”, he said. Just as employers seek to roll back some of the recommendations, unions and employees will no doubt seek even more changes to the act.
The institution, like many others in the business community, is very much in a “wait and see” mode as stakeholders consider what changes will actually come to fruition in the Employment Act.
