by CARLOS ATWELL

IF OIL PRICES continue to rise, Barbados can expect employee layoffs.

"If this trend continues, it can have devastating consequences.

"If the cost of doing business continues to go up, many businesses may look at cutting staff, especially any business [where] the cost of energy is a significant factor," said executive director of the Barbados Employers Confederation (BEC), Harry Husbands.

Husbands was speaking during a BEC meeting to get feedback from its members about the proposed amendments to the 1978 Trade Union Act.

He said it would be up to the Social Partnership to "work to avoid or reduce these negative consequences of the current situation as much as possible".

"The Social Partnership has to go back to its roots [of] the early nineties. Going back to that approach is the best way to assist in this situation . . . but to be totally honest, we expect the remainder of this year to be difficult, not only in terms of industrial relations, but in terms of doing business in Barbados and generally," he said.

Oil prices rose to new heights last week, surging to US$115 a barrel after the dollar fell and concerns mounted about global supplies.

Last week, gasoline moved from $2.15 per litre to $2.67; diesel from $1.46 per litre to $2.57, and kerosene from $1.37 per litre to $1.51.

LPG 100-pound cylinders moved from $144.75 to $188.15; the 25-pound cylinders rose from $38.76 to $49.63, while the widely used 20-pound cylinders went from $31.01 to $39.70.