The country's main business groups are calling for deficiencies in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill to be addressed before the legislation proceeds any further in Parliament. They are calling for the bill to be delayed to allow for consultation and input from key stakeholders.
This was the consensus from an information sharing session hosted by the T&T Manufacturers' Association (TTMA) in collaboration with the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Energy Chamber of T&T and the American Chamber of T&T (AmchamTT) last Wednesday at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.
The session featured presentations by Dr Shafeek Sultan Khan, international legal/management consultant; Aisha Kujifi, an attorney with the Employers' Consultative Association; and Edghill Messiah, EVP, Human Resource, Electrical Industries Group.
The session was well attended by representatives of the business fraternity, various business support organisations and academia. Sultan Khan offered his counsel on the legal implications of the proposed amendments to the IRA on the business community. Messiah spoke from the employers' perspective on the proposed amendments, while Kujifi offered a historical angle on the legislation.
The TTMA will continue to monitor developments in the debate in the House of Representatives, with the objective of seeking to have an input in ensuring the legislative framework put in place that will serve the best interest of all.