The Critical Role of a Revived Social Partnership

In 1991 Prime Minister (Sir) Erskine Sandiford announced that Barbados was facing an awesome financial crisis. The Labour leaders, who heard him, immediately dropped their individual agendas and started working as a focused united body whose central aim was to safeguard the nation’s well being.

What we soon learnt was that the business community had embarked on a parallel course.

Toni Moore General Secretary,

Out of this the Tripartite Social partnership was born, structured along the principles adopted by the International Labour Organisation.

The undisputable truth is that the Social Partnership has led to a level of commitment to country which may otherwise have escaped us. There have been several occasions when at meetings chaired by Government officials, but also at meetings where labour and capital have wrestled over issues, that compromise in the national interest has won out.

This commitment to country has in many instances changed traditional mind sets and provided for more meaningful dialogue between and among the social partners, a greater willingness to share critical information and a readiness to try the position tabled by another party.

What makes the Barbados Social partnership so valuable is that it is a relationship which calls for mutual trust and respect. It is only as meaningful and honourable as the people are who sit at the table and give their word.

Clarke

The BPSA believes that our capacity to resolve key economic and social issues is best facilitated and influenced by the quality of collaboration, negotiation and joint problem solving. The tripartite model of the Social Partnership is therefore recognised as a model of greater benefit for the national good than industrial and social conflict and adversarial dialogue. Given the review of its activities over the years, the BPSA believes that the Social Partnership model can continue to offer unique opportunities for communication and dialogue at the highest level which can strengthen rather than weaken national decision making, recognising that it is not a body to usurp the authority of the Government of Barbados.

The Government has recently established a Monitoring Committee for the oversight of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (BERT), which has been used to secure the much-needed multilateral funding for Barbados, and its success will determine the future economic recovery of Barbados. The Chairman of the BPSA will be one of the Co-Chairs of the BERT monitoring committee.

The BPSA also recognises the recent efforts to widen the model of the Social Partnership and believes that the establishment of a Social Justice Committee is another positive development.

For the future, the BPSA expects a continuation of its role as the strong, unified private sector body within a vibrant Social Partnership of Barbados.