Members of the executive committee of the Employers' Consultative Association (ECA) led by acting chairman Neil Derrick recently paid a courtesy call on the new Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development Jennifer Baptiste Primus at the ministry's head office.
During the meeting, the visiting delegation raised several topics and expressed the intention of the ECA to continue to be an active participant in the conversation on labour in T&T. Baptiste Primus told them a Tripartite Committee will be established shortly to ensure the labour movement and employer representatives are able to contribute to national policies and projects.
The minister also expressed her firm view that there must be genuine respect shown to trade unions in the consultative process as they too bring invaluable contributions to the process.
The ECA officials called on the minister to develop a skills inventory, which will indicate the skill set demand to aid in a proactive approach to national planning that will address labour shortfalls in all sectors of industry.
National productivity was also high on the agenda. Baptiste Primus announced that the National Productivity Council will be reconstituted and will undertake studies to ascertain the impact of factors such as traffic on punctuality, absenteeism and wellness and ultimately on national productivity. She also called for establishment of mechanisms to link wages and wage increases with productivity
The minister promised a heavy legislative agenda, consistent with the government's policy document to ensure the review and updating of many of the labour laws.
Baptiste Primus said she plans to continue her meetings with stakeholder groups to hear first-hand their concerns and share her government's policy.