BARBADOS IS ONCE again at the crossroads, as it stood during the 1930s.
The trade union movement of that day challenged the authority of the island when they stood up for the political, social and economic rights of the working class. In every shape and form what had occurred on the island was a violation of the human rights of the entire black working class population.
In their wisdom, the founders of the trade union movement reached the conclusion that the best way to challenge the establishment was to form their own political party. Looking back, it was the best plan that they could have ever put into action because the Moyne Commission was only a band-aid for the crisis that had unfolded throughout the entire British West Indies.
The challenges being experienced across the length and breadth of Barbados are therefore not new but have occurred in another time as a result of another set of political and economic actions. The burdens of taxation are crippling economic activity in Barbados.
Unemployment, which affects the source of purchasing power in any society, today has produced a series of reactions in housing, education and health care for which the Government did not anticipate or put measures in place to cushion the effects of its draconian policies. Even for those employed, the reality is that the real wage has declined as taxation has increased.
The austerity measures of the just-concluded Budget will only worsen the current situation. In essence, without any significant impact on the island by tourism or any of the other leading industries, the outlook for Barbados is dismal under the current administration. Over the past nine years, they have continuously shown the people of Barbados that they do not have the ability to successfully manage our economy.
In the past I have been an advocate for industrial action and shutting the island down. To date these measures have had little impact or served to change this administration’s actions. I am of the opinion now that these tools are not the remedy for the present situation.
The time is now ripe for change; for self-examination and rebirth; for a new focus and new strategies to achieve goals of empowering the workers of Barbados. The Government has become deaf to workers’ economic and social rights and it no longer views the trade union as a bargaining partner.
The best way to fight this Government is to arm yourselves politically by forming your own political party and confront them in the upcoming general elections.
