Baptiste-Primus: Public service not a slave camp

STAKEHOLDERS of the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development have unanimously agreed that the Foreign Labour Contracts Act should be repealed. The act, introduced in the 1900s, is aimed at prohibiting people from emigrating from TT for the purpose of work.

However, during consultation on the act at the Hyatt on Friday last week, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus sought to clarify the government's position on workers who wish to move to other companies after signing a contract with the public service.

One participant, who complained of not being allowed to leave his job in the public service, suggested he was forced to stay because the company invested in his education. This caused some concern among some private stakeholders who said it seemed like a form of slavery.

Baptiste-Primus, in response, said the public service is “not a slave camp”.

The contributor who started the discourse, complained that after working in a ministry which invested in his education, he had little choice but to turn down private jobs while he was still on contract with the public service.

“Companies have trade secrets, like someone who has worked on the government side cannot leave and go to the other side, and you have to have legal contracts. So there are trade secrets on the institutional capacity because companies invest in individuals and they want a return on the investments.

“There has to be some registration and controlled movement, balancing the rights of the various parties.”

This concerned president of TT Coalition of Services Industries Lara Quentrall-Thomas.

“Obviously companies invest in training you, but what you are saying is that you can never resign from the job once you are being trained? That’s madness,” Quentrall-Thomas said. “You can’t keep people here if they want to leave. It’s unfortunate if they leave, but I think if that is the public service’s mentality then that is a bit worrying.”

The contributor cited some “unwritten poaching rules” as the reasoning behind the ministry’s refusal, to which Quentrall-Thomas replied, “But they do it all the time (poach workers). If that is the case, then I would have to talk to the minister of energy because something is wrong there.”

Baptiste-Primus interjected. “I think it is necessary as Minister of Labour to just bring a bit of clarity to this discourse that was going on a while ago. When a national of TT is granted a scholarship, they have to come back to TT and work for a period of time. After that time of giving back – and that is really what it is – then that public officer is free to move wherever he chooses. The public service of TT is not a slave camp.”

Baptiste-Primus said the Foreign Labour Contracts Act has not been used since 1945, but the ministry saw it prudent to discuss the act with all its stakeholders before making a decision on whether or not to amend or repeal it altogether.

“TT was at that time (when the law was passed) still under British colonial rule with a governor at its head. There was a labour shortage in TT which came about due to the end of the slave trade. After slavery ended, various ethnic groups were used to try and solve the labour problem. With poor working conditions in the colony of TT in 1900, workers sought opportunities on other islands and many migrated to neighbouring territories.” She said the act was worded in a way that would control the out-migration of the colony under the guise of safeguarding the interests of the migrating labourers. “It even contained a provision that the worker had to be warned of the risks associated with migrating to a particular foreign country.

“We are certainly a long way from that time.”