Caribbean News
CIBC Caribbean is reorganizing its Call Centres across the region, creating new ‘Digital Branch’.
Media Release
Bridgetown, Barbados, May 22, 2024 – A reorganization does not always have to result in displaced and unhappy employees. CIBC Caribbean is proving this to be true as it unveils plans for the creation of a “Digital Branch” out of its current Call Centres.
The establishment of a new Call Centre facility in Kingston, Jamaica, and the creation of new job opportunities for some of its employees are among the exciting changes CIBC Caribbean has announced, as it retools its contact centres for the new era of digital banking. The changes have come after extensive consultation with the various stakeholders involved.
The bank has firmly established itself as the leader in digital banking in the region, with the introduction to the market of world-class mobile and online banking services, online account opening, the provision of loans for qualified clients in 10 minutes or less, and the popular suite of instant payments options headlined by the “1st Pay” service.
Now, CIBC Caribbean has outlined plans to take the service provided by its contact centres to the next level, with the creation of a “Digital Branch”, encompassing its call centres in Barbados and Jamaica.
The Bank’s CEO, Mark St. Hill said: “As a dynamic business in an ever-changing banking landscape, we strive to constantly improve our business for the benefit of both our staff and our clients. In line with our goal of providing our clients with a true omni-channel banking experience, in addition to continuing to provide first-class service in our branches, we are converting our Call Centers into true contact centers. In essence, we are reimagining our Call Centres into a Digital Branch.
“This move helps more of our clients who choose to go digital to use our self-serve channels to do their everyday banking, by placing our professionals at their disposal should they need help navigating these channels. It also allows our team members to further develop their skills to become more involved in sales and act as financial coaches to our clients.”
Chief Information Officer, Esan Peters, under whose remit the Call Centres fall, noted that while the plan makes it necessary to close the Bank’s Contact Centre in The Bahamas and relocate the Contact Centre currently located in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to the Kingston area, it is a move that the bank is making following full consultation with all stakeholders. The current Call Centre in Barbados remains.
Mr. Peters added that this decision was taken against the background of the bank being able to provide different opportunities for many of the bank’s employees currently working in the Jamaica and Bahamas facilities.
He noted: “This exercise is about reallocating our resources with the best possible outcome for all stakeholders, and we are undertaking these changes with their understanding. Our intention is to retain any full-time members of staff who wish to remain in the company. Any employees who are close to retirement or who wish to transition out of the company will also be facilitated. There are also options for redeployment within other areas of the bank available to any employee affected by the changes.”
CIBC Caribbean’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Janine Billy, noted that the development is a carefully coordinated exercise, to ensure that there is the best possible outcome for all employees.
“We’ve had extensive consultations with our employees, our union partners, and where necessary, as in the case of The Bahamas, the Labour Department, to find the best solutions that leave each employee feeling well cared for and accommodated.”
She added: “In Jamaica, for example, we will consider employees who wish to exercise their option to move to Kingston and we are facilitating introductions to other Call Centres in the Montego Bay area for those who don’t. The same is true in The Bahamas where, assisted by the Labour Department, we are also facilitating introductions to other companies for affected employees.”
She noted: “For others, we are offering secondments opportunities in other areas of the business, so that they can fully leverage their strengths and additional experience, secure the necessary training, and eventually move into other areas of the business in which they are interested. We are creating what we call a Culture of Care in our bank, and these changes are within that context. Our aim is to set up our employees for success, so that they can continue to grow and develop in our company.”
St. Hill added: “With the expanded remit of the Call Centres, there may be opportunities for other employees in the company who are interested in sales and developing the specialized skills necessary to be a member of our Digital Branch. With the continued development of facilities such as our LoanStore, increased support for clients using our digital services is critical and we want our team to be fully equipped to take advantage of the available opportunities.”
The changes become effective in June.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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