Ansa McAl meets unions to discuss worker well-being, business continuity

ANSA MCAL executives met with union leaders on Thursday to discuss and establish common ground in order to sustain business and employment while ensuring the emotional and physical well-being of workers. In a release, the company said it shared with the unions “people-focused interventions” along with the stark reality of critical macro-economic indicators. This kicked-off a lively conversation.

Representing Ansa McAl – the region’s biggest conglomerate – as part of its crisis management and business continuity team were group CEO, Anthony Sabga III, group human resource manager Teresa White, group CFO Nicholas Jackman and head of legal and corporate secretary, Frances Bain-Cumberbatch, as well as group communications manager Sharon Balroop. Representing the recognised majority unions within the various company sectors were National Union of General and Federated Workers president James Lambert; Mario Als, acting president of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union; president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union Michael Annisette; and Ozzi Warwick, general secretary of the Joint Trade Union Movement.

The team acknowledged that they were “all in this together,” sharing common ground. And both parties agreed that this common ground, even beyond covid19, is best expressed through conversation, collaboration and commitment to creative continuous action. “As a combined force, the collective responsibility (will be) to influence respective stakeholders to engage in a process of social and corporate solidarity that serves TT’s collective interests,” the release said.

In the first instance, this means strict compliance with the governmental regulations and protocols that have been established to keep everyone safe – especially social distancing, workplace health protocols, and staying at home unless one has to purchase or ensure the availability of essential goods and services and, in such instances, all distancing and hygiene protocols must be observed.

All parties committed to transforming the current unprecedented challenge into an unprecedented opportunity to establish a new relationship and a new paradigm, founded on a shared vision, the promotion of initiative and innovation, the development of business opportunities and the respect for workers’ rights, and the establishment of respectful ways of furthering the blended interests of people and profits, the release said.