It’s high time to start forming trade unions in the Turks and Caicos Islands

#TurksandCaicos, December 7, 2022 – I’m of the opinion, TCI is at a juncture in our development where trade unions could be very beneficial to the people of this country.

With that being said, it’s high time to start exploring our options particularly in the service industry to see where it leads us.  I applaud the former popular Facebook host Brenesha Cox-Lightbourne, for shedding some light on this topic several months ago.

Currently, we have what I would sum up to be a badly broken workforce system. We need a stronger voice to champion equal rights and equal pay for our people.   In actuality, it goes beyond that. There are some serious issues which have permeated a few sectors of our workforce. Issues such as wrongful terminations, health and safety concerns, poor working conditions, employers not paying workers a fair wage or overtime pay, etc.

Case in point: Some companies have employees working on construction sites and high rise buildings, with many of them not wearing the proper safety harnesses or helmets. Do we have enough hired help in our labor department to monitor these practices?

Are we waiting for serious incidents or death to occur before something is done? Our government should be much more proactive in their approach to matters such as this.

Now days, it’s not uncommon to hear about big corporations suppressing wages by touting there aren’t enough workers to meet the demands. I think those arguments have nothing to do with the real truth and I beg to differ.

The truth to the matter is, it’s hogwash. In most cases, it’s because these big corporations are not willing to pay the locals fair wages to keep up with the growing demands and cost of living in TCI.

Having a properly functioning union in the Turks and Caicos, will broaden the opportunity for the middle class to flourish. This will create greater opportunities where everyone can be offered a fair shake at achieving the TI dream.

This should include the government putting in place sound policies that help to build a floor beneath citizens who are willing to work hard.

We realize there will always be varying degrees of sagacity and varying degrees of success. However, let’s try to create a level playing field and avoid building a society where there are the “haves and the have not”. Because, what it breeds is resentment.

A free market society only works when we all have an opportunity to get a slice of the pie and fair income distribution.

Henceforth, to get the ball rolling, what must to be done is to begin having more social dialogue at the workplace and at the national level to educate workers of their rights.

Both the private and the public sector have a key role to play in achieving better local governance, and to ensure workers rights are being enforced in accordance with the international labour standards.

The million-dollar question that still remains is, who will stand up and fight for our rights, be it concerned citizens or a politician with the political will?

Cheers!

Ed Forbes

Concerned citizen of Grand Turk