The recent story by Corruption Free Anguilla blog on the plight of Indian migrant workers on that island made me think about the Chinese labourers here on Barbados. I saw a pair doing some concrete work in Bridgetown a few months ago and I remember thinking at the time that they looked sad and lonely. I was also surprised at their age – around 45 at a guess – as I had imagined that the imported Chinese workers would be younger.
It is easy to imagine that a younger person might want to trade home and family for a while to taste the adventure of working with a construction crew in another country, but to me that seems a little odd for a 45 year old. Or maybe I’m just applying my values to these Chinese folks and it is natural in China that a 45 year old man would want to work so far away from friends and family? Perhaps they are desperate. Could they be, as some have suggested, convicts or political prisoners?
Paid Workers Or Sharecroppers With A Debt That Cannot Be Worked Off?
How much are they being paid? Do we know that they are collecting all their salary? Or, are they like the sharecroppers or miners of old who would work and buy at the “company store” – only to be told after a year that they still owed a debt that could never be worked off? Are their living conditions acceptable? Do they have access to medical and dental care? Can they communicate with their loved ones back home? Are they getting enough to eat? Are their working conditions at least as safe as required on Barbados?
So Many Questions, But The Government Remains Silent
In all our discussions about the use of imported Chinese labour in Barbados it is easy to forget that we are talking about real people who have journeyed half way around the world to work for little money and to live in conditions that most of us would not even consider. Forget about the fact that they are taking Bajan jobs. Forget about the political shenanigans going on all around the issue.
These are real people who are guests on Barbados – if only for a while.
The Chinese workers should be entitled to all the fundamental human rights that we would want for any fellow human being. They deserve to be compensated properly and to live and work in acceptable conditions.
There have been enough warning signs around the world about migrant workers who are little more than slaves, that Bajans and our government should be extremely wary about the circumstances surrounding the employment and living conditions of these Chinese workers.
With our country’s legacy in the fight against slavery and then our struggle to achieve equality for all – no matter the colour of the skin – Bajans owe it to themselves and to history to be interested in the welfare of each one of these Chinese imported workers.
54 Comments
July 9, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I am confused.
According to their website, Barbados has been a member of the International Labour Organisation since 1967.
Again, from the information posted, Barbados has ratified 39 conventions including C63 and C100.
Surely, all labour employed, for whatever means on Barbados would have to follow the rules and conditions stipulated in these conventions?
I can graphically recall the Chinese living in containers while the Gymnasium was being built, the Koreans installing a new generator at BLP
occupying the derelict Paradise buildings and more recently, Indians living in a partially burnt-out factory on Harbour Road.
Doesn’t Sir Leroy Trotman hold an important position with the ILO?
Where is the rule of law?
Just Asking!
July 9, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Some of the Chinese labourers are petty criminals back home who are working off their debt to society in a foreign land, out of sight, out of mind. Working for “next kin to nothing” in Barbados might just be better than spending 5 years in a Chinese prison… Seriously though, it is nothing short of exploitation.
July 9, 2007 at 1:08 pm
His judgement has been damaged by the politics of inclusion.
Where did his SIRdom come from ?
People will do anything for power and a reward of money hence his stance of doing nothing to ruffle the feathers of Owing and company sadly he has become a mute on most things.
We are presently going through a sick stage of questions needing replies but the gov’t opts not to respond and these questions are dying a slow death such as the VECO issue of who were the locals that collected and what did they collect ?
The Chinese workers issue are they legal or illegally employed at Parardise?
The Edutech issue who were the receivers of these funds and what did they supply and were these people know or friends of Mottley ?
The Gems issue when will we ever see accounts for this company now that even more money is being thrown into it, ?
The purpose of the US $ 5 million payment to Carnival to achieve what?
The question as to the owenership of the 2,500 slot machines ?
The scam of Nicholls and the local contractors on the commission for the west coast sewage treatment plant his 5 % commission is sadly blocking the awarding of this contract ?
The flyovers who are the background players here are the the same Nicholls,Bannister and Owing?The real position of Owing and his cabinet with regard to Liz Thompson’s husbands erection for vastly more than the building sjhould have costed ?
The question of where did MM Lynch gain his wealth from overnignt ?
The question of when will that building at Newton ever get completed ?
The question of will people like Mottley ever be censored for her morally corrupt stance and her moraless actions ask Jenny Arm strong her feelings on this issue she will have a lot to say on the subject ?
The question of where did Owing get that cheque from that he deposited to his account ?
Te question of barriers obstructing our accesses to our lovely beaches such is the case at Colony Club and the obstruction at Lonestar restaurant and the Sixt property and Owing selling out of Barbados from under our noses because he is up for sale to the highest bidder.
All of the above need replies but sadly we are not getting them and maybe the only way to get them is to arrange a marching for freedom a march for the return of freedom of the press.
July 9, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Barbadians have been exploited by their political masters for so long with double standards and lack of transparency, why would anyone in the Barbadian political landscape care about more serious forms of exploitation?
July 9, 2007 at 2:59 pm
A very good point, well made – at least BFP suspects that the Chinese imported to Barbados may be human too. This contrasts wildly with the recent Barbados Underground posts which have been explicitly anti-Guyanese, anti-Chinese and anti-White. Most recently they’ve gone homophobic. I like their coverage of corruption but their values appear to be all out of wack with modern life and I won’t be going to their site any more – I can’t handle this sort of bigotry in this day and age. A shame. Keep up the good, balanced work BFP !
July 9, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Fed Up, the oppression Barbadians have felt for so many years makes it difficult not to want to lash out and we tend to lash out at the nearest object which so happens to be the imported labour because we cannot hear a squeak from the people who should be facing the music. They are doing as they please with no accountability whatsoever.
I do not think you should be so hard on BU.
July 9, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I think they are actually 25 years old, but look 45.
July 9, 2007 at 5:29 pm
What is the story behind the news report about the steel coming into the island for the paradise project is it second rate product it certainly appears to have attracted the attention of Mr Trotman and must be Bizzy and COW as well seeing how Pemberton and Patterson combined to con the poor Williams’s boys, he Pemberton better be looking over his shoulder all the time, as the old people use to say one smart dead at too smart door.
July 9, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Supply versus Demand.
Too little supply in the face of demand = values go up.
Too much supply in the face of demand = values go down.
Our planet is now absolutely AWASH in humans.
It’s not a labour pool, it’s a labour OCEAN.
Humans are dime a dozen.
No, even cheaper than that.
We were warned about this effect,thirty years ago, but nobody listened. Now here we are, facing the “appalling” consequences of our indiscipline in human over-reproduction.
There are a billion more Chinese where our few hundred came from, every one of them glad to escape serfdom in China. Work the bastards to death: it’s the only way out of the human overpopulation problem that is concentrated in just two countries.
CAN YOU name those two countries?
July 9, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Barbados Underground been putting out some good posts but I agree with FedUP that they come across as hating ABBB (anybody but black Bajans). Wish they were not so becuase it spoils their blog
July 9, 2007 at 7:06 pm
BU is doing a good job. Anytime anyone calls for the uniting of the Barbadian middleclass “red alarms” are sent off, in all cases so far they have all been false alarms design to keep the status quo on wealth in Barbados. BU be reminded of Hillary Beckles’s experience with the MUTUAL, the same forces are at work here.
July 9, 2007 at 7:25 pm
You are so right A2. Its obvious a disproportionate number of bloggers on here and BU from minority group. Same as the control of the economy. They leap in unison to defend the status quo on wealth. They really dont give two hoots about anything else but the wealth must remain in their hands. Their excuses from “risk taking” to “secure families” to”blacks sitting on their fannies” is a bunch of insulting fraudulent garbage. Blacks are hardest working people. Always were. Its difficult to quantify what the white minority does. From looking on my guess is very little. Slavery enabled whites to create wealth. After all they had no overheads.They paid no labour costs. No vat, no medical insurance, no worry about unions. They had no conscience. Blacks were mere chattel possessions.
July 9, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Adrian Loveridge is white. Cliverton and Marcus are black. George and Robert I’m not sure about. Shona? Auntie Moses?
BFP what race are your bloggers? Looking On want to know.
July 9, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Or did Looking on mean “commenters” when he say “bloggers” ?
July 9, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Lassie take your pick. Check your spelling on ‘commenters.’
July 9, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Red Lake Lassie
Just now you going get call a “stinking white bi….h” which is what white people are used to hearing on a daily basis. But you wait – the white hatred going pale in significance when the East Indians from Guyana tek over! And when dem Indians tek over they does tek over EVERYTHING. Who you think got the money in Trinidad? Interesting times ahead.
July 9, 2007 at 8:26 pm
How values are arrived at
overpopulation is a serious problem
especially in countries where education and human rights are non-existent
Europe is presently faced with thousands upon thousand of illegal immigrants coming from central Africa and filtering though Libya, Tunisia Algeria nad Morrocco. They have nothing to live for in their own countries as most politicians in Africa have 40% or more of their wealth in European countries. Corruption steals so much from the economy that there is little trickle down to the poor. Mugabe has bankrupted and impoverished his country in twenty years.
Does this sound familiar and do you care?
July 9, 2007 at 9:08 pm
The Barbadian and Caribbean population do not understand the engulfing effect of the Chinese across the world. Governments in the Caribbean are grabbing at the funds provided by China to put in to ostentatious projects and are willing to shut their eyes to the slave labour and the inhumane living conditions of the Chinese.
The Chinese government is quite calculating in its efforts as no other company can work on the projects funded by them. China has a larger plan and that is world control and domination, which will be successful as a result of the encouragement of Caribbean and other World governments. Even United States believes that it is exploiting Chinese labour through the establishment of major manufacturing plants in China, but this is another cog in the Chinese wheel. They want this, China control of major manufacturing gives them leverage. Just watch the plan as it unfolds. The Chinese mind is difficult for most to comprehend.
July 9, 2007 at 9:33 pm
To “Looking On”: We must remain on message, constantly reviewing our approach too, and asking ourselves how best can we deliver the truth and power to be had, about self-enfrachisement of the Barbadian Middleclass.
July 9, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Well said SAMSO:
Go very carefully in your comments, BFP does not often allow such inflammatory remarks.
They smack of incorrect political thinking, and if judged as such you must propound your own views on another WordPress blog, because alas, that is the nature of a Free Press, open to all, so long as it toes the blogs line.
July 10, 2007 at 2:08 am
“Are The Chinese Workers In Barbados Being Treated Well? Are They Healthy, Happy?”
————————
Howdy All,
Why not ask them? Seriously. If any of us out there know one of the Chinese workers, or knows someone who is close to them, maybe we can get some info? After all, this is a small island.
Mind you, I don’t know of the Chinese directly, nor indirectly. But it was just a thought…
Yours,
The Bystander.
July 10, 2007 at 2:40 am
Hi folks
A teacher friend of mine had his house built not so long ago (last year to be more precise) by some Chinese and it cost him a mere $98,000 for a three- bedroom split level house.
It cost him an additional $10,000 to pay off his contact. Suffice it to say that his contact works in the Housing Ministry, but he did not say in which position so I can’t go much further than that.
I do know that he bought a new car and did some travelling which I advised against. My suggestion was not to draw down all the money so that his mortgage will be low, but he did not take my advice.
BTW, blacks are special and we need to see ourselves as such. Take a look at this e-mail a friend sent me.
(Sorry for the long post, but I could not resist this one)
“A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of
white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they
joined together and wished themselves away.
They passed through a deep dark tunnel and emerged in sort of
a twilight zone where there is an America without black people.
At first these white people breathed a sigh of relief.
At last, they said, No more crime, drugs, violence and welfare.
All of the blacks have gone! Then suddenly, reality set in.
The “NEW AMERICA ” is not America at all-only a barren land.
1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system .
2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a black man, invented the elevator, and without it, one finds
great difficulty reaching higher floors.
3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black
man, invented the automatic gearshift, Joseph Gambol , also black,
invented the Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines , and
Garrett A. Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals .
4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system becauseits procurer was the electric trolley , which was invented by another black man, Albert R. Robinson.
5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an
AfricaAmerican, Charles
Brooks, invented the street sweeper .
6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love invented the pencil sharpener , William Purveys invented the fountain pen , and Lee Barrage invented the Type Writing
Machine and W. A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press . They were all, you guessed it, Black.
7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry
invented the Postmarking and Canceling Machine , William Purveys invented the Hand Stamp and Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.
8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith
invented the Lawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower .
9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner and Alice Parker the Heating
Furnace. Their homes were also dim. But of course , Lewis Lattimer later invented the Electric Lamp , Michael Harvey invented the lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the
Automatic Cut off Switch. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the Mop & Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan.
10. Their children met them at the door-barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah
Boone invented the Ironing Board and George T. Samon invented theClothes Dryer .
11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black Man, John Standard invented the refrigerator .
Now, isn’t that something? What would this country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “by the time we leave for work,
Americans have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks.”
Black history includes more than just slavery, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey & W.E.B.
Dubois.”
July 10, 2007 at 2:47 am
China has at least 90 million men who are without the corresponding women because of China’s one-child rule so what does anyone expect?
Their greatest export is cheap goods (read labour).
We accept their money and we also have to accept the strings that are attached.
All across the Caribbean the cry is the same, so it tells me that our leaders have sold us out for a mess of porridge. And you know what? We like it so.
July 10, 2007 at 2:50 am
BFP
Why is my comment being moderated? Nothing untoward in my staement. No obsenity, no attack on any race nor anyone for that matter.
*****************
BFP Replies
Hi Zulu
Your comment was dumped to the “moderate” section by the automatic filter probably because of its length. I only now saw it and approved it without even reading it. There is not a whole lot we can do about the automatic filters. They are a fact of life when we are dealing with 2000 spam comments a day. Patience please!
Sometimes they even throw mine into the “moderate” bin.
… aha!! Now I see that your post contained the word “drugs” which is a trigger word – seeing as how about 75% of the spam is for online pharmacies, viagra and such.
Robert
July 10, 2007 at 3:11 am
Still awaiting moderation, BFP?
WOW!!
July 10, 2007 at 3:15 am
No hold backs on Barbados Underground they are very open and free.
My comment above was held up for an entire day.
***********************
BFP Comments…
Hi WIV
We had no moderation at first either, but as we became more popular and then entered the “top 100 WordPress Blogs” in the world, the spam hits one to two thousand comments per day. If that happens to BU (and it will) they will have to moderate also. Just life!
July 10, 2007 at 3:40 am
“BTW, blacks are special and we need to see ourselves as such. Take a look at this e-mail a friend sent me. (Sorry for the long post, but I could not resist this one)
“A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and wished themselves away.”
—————————
Hi Zulu,
I normally try to avoid the whole ‘black,’ ‘white,’ and ‘polka-dot-pink’ issue, but that’s a very informative post. Never knew (assuming that the post is accurate) that ‘Blacks’ were responsible for so much.
Learn something new everyd ay I guess…
Yours,
The Bystander.
July 10, 2007 at 3:43 am
BFP Replies to Zulu
Hi Zulu
Your comment was dumped to the “moderate” section by the automatic filter probably because of its length. I only now saw it and approved it without even reading it. There is not a whole lot we can do about the automatic filters. They are a fact of life when we are dealing with 2000 spam comments a day. Patience please!
Sometimes they even throw mine into the “moderate” bin.
… aha!! Now I see that your post contained the word “drugs” which is a trigger word – seeing as how about 75% of the spam is for online pharmacies, viagra and such.
Sometimes we can’t get to the moderation list for hours. Just life.
Cheers!
Robert
July 10, 2007 at 5:46 am
The Bystander
July 10th, 2007 at 3:40 am
“BTW, blacks are special and we need to see ourselves as such. Take a look at this e-mail a friend sent me. (Sorry for the long post, but I could not resist this one)
“A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and wished themselves away.”
—————————
Hi Zulu,
I normally try to avoid the whole ‘black,’ ‘white,’ and ‘polka-dot-pink’ issue, but that’s a very informative post. Never knew (assuming that the post is accurate) that ‘Blacks’ were responsible for so much.
Learn something new everyd ay I guess…
Yours,
The Bystander.
Bystander, Zulu: this list of black accomplishments is far from accurate. It’s been buzzing round the Net for years now, and has been discredited many times.
Though clearly well-intentioned (unlike the infamously fraudulent “Willy Lynch” story) , the list is actually a collection of a few truths, a bundle of half-truths, and a whole lot of errors and misrepresentations.
Take too long to go through them one-by-one. Check out the following link for a very fair-minded, carefully-researched analysis:
http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/blackinv.asp
I’m as keen as the next man to big-up the many real historical achievements of my brothers and sisters, but I don’t want to be patronized by hearing stuff that sounds great, but plays fast and loose with the facts. I’m a grown man who wants the truth, not a pickney who wants fairy-stories.
(Are you listening, Ikael Tafari…?)
July 10, 2007 at 6:05 am
Incidentally, I don’t know what Bible you read Zulu, but the phrase you want is “mess of pottage”, not “mess of porridge” (see Genesis 25: 29-34)
Or maybe you is (ahem!) a Quaker….?
July 10, 2007 at 11:06 am
Good one, Samizdat
July 10, 2007 at 11:07 am
[...] Barbados Free Press wonders whether the island’s imported Chinese labourers are being fairly t… “Forget about the fact that they are taking Bajan jobs. The Chinese workers should be entitled to all the fundamental human rights that we would want for any fellow human being.” Share This [...]
July 10, 2007 at 1:10 pm
“Bystander, Zulu: this list of black accomplishments is far from accurate. It’s been buzzing round the Net for years now, and has been discredited many times.”
—————————
Hi samizdat,
Sorry, my bad. I should’ve looked before I leapt. Can we at least agree that ‘Blacks,’ have contributed their fair share of innovations and inventions?
Yours,
The Bystander.
July 10, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Samizdat
Howdy. Thanks for your comment. True that some similar post has been making the rounds for a while, many of the things in my earlier post was “verified” by some newspaper articles including the Nation News (during February).
Agreed, All may not be true, but at least I do hope it caused you to at least think about some of them. Don’t throw away the baby with the bath water.
Again, I was not quoting the Bible as I do do it states “a mess of pottage”, but porridge sounds better. Lighten up, muh brudder.
And do have a good day. BTW, your comments are accepted.
July 10, 2007 at 2:05 pm
should be ….as I do know it states…..
July 10, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Samizdat
Forgot to thank you for the link. Good one.
July 10, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Samizdat
Forgot to thank you for the link.
Good one.
July 10, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Long live the Chinese
All projects (public sector) in which Chinese workers participate are at least 50% funded by the Chinese Government. So when Government builds for $10 million – $5 million is subsidized by the Chinese Government…so the question is..where does the remainder of the money end up?
July 10, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Well, well, well, from what I am reading in the Nation newspaper today we do not have any standards for the steel coming into the island, this is a remarkable revelation as it means that if we took it to its natural conclusion these traditional importers of steel could skimp on the quality of their imports for lower cost and sell this cheap steel at higher prices thereby ripping us off and degrading the quality of our structures which in turn may suffer down the line.
However more to the point is that I doubt that this has been the case with the traditional importers of the steel to the island but what we have now is an inferior product being shipped in from China where their standards are doubtful to put it mildly, but we are now being told we do not have standards for steel that is imported into the island on one hand and on the other hand we are being made to understand that the traditional importers import under the British standards but these Chinese imports fall short of the British standards.
Where do we go from here with Pemberton and his clan of con artist, first they import and hire 100 illegal Chinese workers and not a word from Owing, or Mottley on the matter (too much comfort money having been paid to Owing) and now this scam of using inferior materials in the project, they need to be taken to task for not obeying the laws of the land and fined for not doing so.
July 10, 2007 at 3:46 pm
My problem with this is that if the steel is inferior, will the structure collapse and kill unsuspecting tourists and Barbadians on the site in years to come? Will that not potentially harm our good name as a tourist destination? I am hopeful that the builders, contractors and owners have considered carefully the consequences for the “Four Seasons” brand, Barbados’s good name and the lives of fellow human beings if, God forbid, something were to occur as a result of knowingly inferior building materials being used in the name of saving money.
July 10, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Just another example of these foreign investors given heaven and earth for the elections funding, and to provide Owing with the facility to deposit another cheque for another $ 750,000.00 .
July 10, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Things aren’t easy for these Chinese workers at all
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070709/3/34i42.html
July 10, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Hi samizdat,
Sorry, my bad. I should’ve looked before I leapt. Can we at least agree that ‘Blacks,’ have contributed their fair share of innovations and inventions?
Yours,
The Bystander.
________
No doubt about that, breddrin. And the real (as opposed to the bogus) ones need to be more widely known. See the last part of the very interesting Snopes link I give above for more info on this.
_______
Zulu
July 10th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Samizdat
Forgot to thank you for the link.
Good one.
_______
You’re welcome, Zulu.
And I in turn forgot to say that I very much agreed with the substance of your mess of porrige post.
Peace out.
July 11, 2007 at 12:48 am
Well over the past few days the site opposite Bishop’s Court has been completely surrounded with plywood so no one can see all the Chinese working inside unless they drive through the gate. The workers seem to be living there.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
July 11, 2007 at 1:28 am
Sounds like the bamboo curtains are going up at building sites around Barbados.
Every hole in the plywood at the top of Spring Garden has been plugged and painted.
Can’t see nuffin!! As to the trees, ….. well they simply disappeared. Hiding their disappearance behind a curtain is a bit pointless.
It really is a comedy. Owen goes to China to beg for money to keep Bajans employed but brings back a whole set of Chinamen to do the jobs.
Somebody needs to give him a lecture in Economics 101.
July 11, 2007 at 6:04 am
[...] Fed Up [...]
July 11, 2007 at 11:30 am
You can take it for granted that the “Four Seasons” name means a great deal more to the developers than the few dollars they would “save” by using inferior quality steel and creating the possibility of a future catastrophe.
Mr Trotman surely knows that. My take on the situation is that he is only complaining to satisfy those who think that he should be complaining. If he was serious about the quality of the steel, he could make sure that it didn’t come out of the port. If he was in serious opposition to the Chinese labour, he could shut down the port if he wanted to.
But he recognizes that Barbados needs Four Seasons and the employment and foreign exchange it will bring, not to mention the prestige that Barbados will earn by having the Four Seasons brand name here. He recognizes that some concessions have to be made in order to achieve that objective and to bring one of Barbados’ prime tourism locations back into productivity after too many years in disuse.
That’s the big picture, the forest, and if some of the trees are not indigenous, that’s an acceptable price to pay.
I don’t think it has anything to do with being “included”.
July 11, 2007 at 12:24 pm
sounds very plausable Inkwell but this is not the only site teaming with Chinese labour. An acceptable price to pay for Four Seasons but what say you to the other sites? Are these acceptable too?
July 11, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Inkwell:
Is what you are saying that our government is OK to flout the law as long as it collects the almighty dollar?
No matter which way we try to justify these favours to foreign entities, unless these same concessions and permitted infringements are available to all (Bajan, regional and foreign) it is unfair competition.
July 11, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Anonymous, Mr Trotman has a very delicate tight rope balancing act to perform. He has to be seen/heard to be making all the right noises about protecting the rights of Barbadian workers while acknowledging and accepting the reality of the situation without appearing to be betraying those he represents. To what extent he achieves this will be the measure of the man.
ST, I agree it is unfair competition, but the government has to decide which is the greater good for the country. It is clearly acting in the way it sees as having the greatest long term benefit and if it has been able to secure the cooperation of the country’s largest workers union, you may have to accept the reality.
The people now have to decide whether the representation they are getting is the representation they want and do something about it if it is not.
July 11, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Inkwell:
I see the GoB.s logic, but if they believe the existing laws are detrimental to our economic wellbeing, they should be rescinded.
We can’t hold are laws to be sacrosanct, unless you have the means and then everything is negotiable.
In effect this means The Laws of Barbados are for sale.
July 11, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Inkwell means we need to learn Chinese.
July 12, 2007 at 12:19 am
#
Martha Looking On
July 10th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
My problem with this is that if the steel is inferior, will the structure collapse and kill unsuspecting tourists and Barbadians on the site in years to come? Will that not potentially harm our good name as a tourist destination? I am hopeful that the builders, contractors and owners have considered carefully the consequences – as a result of knowingly inferior building materials being used in the name of saving money.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
One only has to look at the devastation that occurs whenever there is a natural disaster in any of those Asian countries and one would see that they have very low standard building codes, indeed if any at all. One only has to check the buildings around Barbados that they have worked upon to see the poor workmanship.
But hey!!!! we like um suh
July 17, 2007 at 4:02 am
When a government can be seen to be breaking its own laws , i think that is a very dangerous road to be travelling. We really are for sale to the highest bidder or cheapest in this case.
How can we seriously expect respect for the rule of law with this type of behaviour by our own Government . Everything is strictly dollars and cents now and then we surprised by people’s attitudes.