Chamber insists industrial relations reform "urgently needed"

THE TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce has said that its October 11 release, suggesting the Industrial Court’s rulings favoured employees over employers was “misinterpreted,” as it continues to advocate for industrial relations reform.

“Our statement was primarily focused on addressing the broader issue of the industrial relations climate, impacted as it must be by the actions of all the important stakeholders,” the Chamber said in a release.

Last week the court said the chamber inaccurately described one of its rulings against Petrotrin in favour of the union regarding wage increases, insisting instead that the company had made the decision and the court upheld it.

“We would like to thank the court for its attention to our release; we believe it is critical that these matters be ventilated. (We believe) all stakeholders need to be engaged in a constructive dialogue on how we can transform the economy through improvements in productivity, which we fully expect would lead to better terms and conditions – including salaries – in the context of fair wages for a fair day’s work,” the chamber said in a statement.

The adversarial tone of the country’s industrial relations climate is driving away investment or, at the very least, failing to provide a platform for the kind of investment necessary to produce opportunities for growth and prosperity, the chamber said.

“Structures and methods that might have been necessary at an earlier time need to be revisited. Insisting on maintaining old ways of negotiation does not help to create a sustainable economy. The conversation needs to change,” it said.

Industrial relations reform needs to be “urgently” changed, the chamber said, towards a more collaborative and cooperative system and that government, private sector and labour need to work together to modernise labour laws. It is imperative that the government, the

“Our objective is in no way intended to destabilise the industrial relations climate; rather, it is to drive improvements to the current environment in order to encourage investment, increase employment and transform our economy,” the chamber said, adding that was willing to facilitate any dialogue.