Bajan businesses want hold on holiday with pay amendments

(Barbados Nation) Commercial leaders have asked Government to stay new labour legislation which they contend could destabilize their businesses during an already slow economic period.

The warning has come from Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) president Lalu Vaswani, who said the chamber had joined the Barbados Private Sector Association to hold meetings with Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo over the Holiday With Pay Amendment Bill 2012.

“The serious concerns of the private sector were expressed in terms of proposed changes that would have the effect of increasing holiday costs for utility companies by 30 to 50 per cent; for manufacturing between 18 and 68 per cent; levels that are simply unrealistic and unsustainable,” Vaswani revealed.

He told the BCCI meeting at Hilton Barbados on Wednesday that the Minister of Labour had agreed to delay taking the contentious bill to Parliament in order to “review and resolve the several concerns expressed in great detail by the Barbados Private Sector Association”.