BARBADIANS must change their work ethic to become more productive.
Minister of Labour Esther Byer-Suckoo said this was one of the imperatives necessary to bring the island through the current economic difficulties.
Responding to the Budgetary Proposals in the House of Assembly yesterday, Byer-Suckoo said “We have had a diagnosis that something is wrong. This is a dire situation; it will not get better unless we take drastic measures.”
Byer-Suckoo said Barbados was ranked 43rd in the list of 139 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report, a commendable position, she thought, but she noted that poor work ethic and productivity were cited as negatives in the report.
She also warned that there needed to be a change in Barbadians’ mindset in order to do things differently. “We cannot continue to do things the same way. We have to sit down and determine our priorities.”
Professionally a medical doctor, Byer-Suckoo used the analogy of the doctor-patient consultation, saying sometimes the diagnosis may require surgery, and there may be side effects of the treatment, but she said the sacrifices had to be made for a better quality of life.
The former Minister of Health said the situation with the National Drug service had been “a beef” of hers for some time, as she welcomed the new system advocated in the Budget, whereby users of the service would be required to pay a user fee to private pharmacies for dispensing drugs on the formulary. (GC)