Chamber: Industrial relations reform needed

The current “broken” industrial relations climate is driving away much-needed investment, the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce has said. The country’s biggest business chamber was also critical of Industrial Court rulings, which it suggested pro-labour rulings had not improved quality of life in the country as was intended.

Citing three recent major union wins at the Industrial Court, the Chamber said there was “clear evidence” that the combination of Industrial Court rulings, operations of the unions, and advice provided to union membership have not resulted in either the expansion of employment or business growth, or quality of life.

1. Two years ago, with the threat of industrial action and the shutdown of Petrotrin, the union won a pay increase from an employer that was unable to afford even the old wages in an already overstaffed operation.

2. The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) told BP to take its platform and go. The result was a transfer of opportunities from local workers and the local economy to overseas workers and overseas economies.

3. The Industrial Court’s ruling in favour of the Steel Workers Union resulted in the shutdown of ArcelorMittal operations in Trinidad. The company was put into liquidation and – since the company was insolvent – and the employees received no severance pay.

“In these very public cases, the apparent victory for the unions has eventually led to hardship for the intended beneficiaries, the workers.

These events illustrate the urgent need for the reform of our industrial relations environment. We need to revisit the role and functioning of the Industrial Court, our labour laws and our entire approach to resolving disputes,” the Chamber said.

The unfolding Petrotrin saga, it said, proves this point. “We cannot continue to treat industrial disputes in old ways that clearly does not benefit anyone,” the Chamber said. Fixing this involves much more than work ethic – it extends far beyond the labour efficiency of the workforce to the legal environment in which industrial relations takes place.

The current reality, in which unemployment exists alongside ‘job wanted’ signs, speaks to a low-productivity labour environment, where labour and industrial relations laws seem more appropriate to a time long gone, it said. “We are well past the time when the government can ‘solve’ the problem through unsustainable make-work opportunities and projects. The current structure of Petrotrin, like many other state enterprises, is unsustainable – a product of past government-driven job creation efforts.

If a business is unable to fund its operations, the decision of a court cannot provide the resources necessary to meet its commitments.

This means that workers – and unions – have a vested interest in the profitability and sustainability of the businesses with which they engage,” the Chamber said.

Labour, government and business need to come together to modernise labour laws and industrial relations, the Chamber said, going beyond just individual industrial disputes, adding that transformation of the economy, including diversification, depends on this evolution.

The “job for life” concept no longer exists. Technology is rapidly changing skill sets. Unions also need to adapt to this reality, because the old ways will not serve workers in the long run. The Chamber said.