Chamber fires back at Sir Roy

Sir Roy Trotman

Wed, May 02, 2012 - 7:12 PM

The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry says it is appalled by the statements attributed to Sir Roy Trotman in relation to one of its member companies Diamonds International.

Sir Roy, in a May Day rally, spoke of an “Egyptian Jew” and called on all employers to “to tell these foreign people that this is not Syria, this is not Damascus, this is not Libya”.

“The BCCI fully supports the right of any employee to join a union of their choice and the principles laid out in the protocol of the social partnership. We also support the provision within the draft employment rights bill under section 30 which indicates that an employee should not be discriminated against on account of their race or religion and suggest that neither should an employer be discriminated against on a similar basis.”

It added: “The managing director, Mr. Jacob Hassid, has lived in Barbados for 17 years and he and his wife have three children all of whom were born in Barbados. When someone has shown this level of commitment to our country, we should not be referring to them by race or religion and seeking to make them feel personally uncomfortable.”

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Posted by Thora Jones 1 year ago: I am NOT appalled by Sir Roy Trotman's statement. The BCCI's statement says that Mr. Hassid has shown commitment to Barbados. As far as I am concerned, he is not committed enough if he would allegedly fire 20 Bajans during these hard economic times for exercising their right to gather to discuss a union matter.

Mr. Hassid obviously does not care about Bajans' tradition of union involvement. His behavior is more in line with what one would expect to see in the part of the world he hails from. Bajans need to remind him where he is.

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Posted by nyln edwards 1 year ago: Why bring religion in to this? When it was the Royal shop there was no mention of 'Hindu', when it was Sandy Lane there was no mention of 'Catholic'.
Are you really going to play the race or religion card in this issue?
Do you really know the facts?
I am sorry that a man of your education and caliber should make these types of comments.
Maybe an apology will help to rebuild the public's view.

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Posted by Thora Jones 1 year ago: Stand Your Ground Sir Roy Trotman!

Your obligation is to the Bajan people. Many of us are behind you.

Certain people will level charges of xenophobia against you. Bajans who stand up for their rights are usually given that label. Just let it roll off your back and go to work fighting for those employees.

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Posted by collin green 1 year ago: Maybe Mr Trotman is just echoing the frustration of ordinary bajans fed up with people from other countries taking advantage of our people whether its summary dismissal of employees or purchasing our most profitable companies , milking them dry leaving them in a state of disrepair and walking away without regard to jobs lost in the process.