Global Rights Index

Legal

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.

The right to freedom of association is recognised by law but strictly regulated.

Anti-Union discrimination

The law does not specifically protect workers from anti-union discrimination.

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

Sanctions imposed for organising or joining an organisation not officially recognised: Every trade union which is not registered or dissolved within three months of its formation, and every officer thereof, is guilty of an offence punishable on conviction thereof by a magistrate's court with a fine of $25 for every day it remains unregistered after the expiration of such period (section 12(4), Trade Unions Act). Where after the withdrawal or cancellation of its certificate of registration a trade union continues in active operation for any purpose other than that of winding up its affairs, every secretary, trustee, member of the committee or other officer of the trade union remaining in office or taking any active part in its operations is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction thereof by a magistrate's court to a penalty of five dollars for every day during which such trade union continues in active operation (section 24(5), Trade Unions Act).

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom: Any person who has been convicted of an offence under section 19 of the Trade Unions Act (withholding or misapplying trade union effects) shall cease to hold any office held in the trade union and be ineligible to hold any office in the trade union from the date of the conviction (section 20, Trade Unions Act). Any person under the age of 18 may not be a member of the committee of management, trustee or treasurer of the trade union (section 25, Trade Unions Act).

Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes: Substantive and procedural restrictions are placed on the use of trade union funds for political purposes, and procedures are established for trade union members who wish to object to making contributions to the trade union's political fund (sections 35-38, Trade Unions Act).

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations: Every trade union shall be registered in accordance with the Trade Unions Act, or it will be dissolved within three months from the date on which the trade union was formed, or from the date of any notification by the Registrar that registration has been refused (section 12(1), Trade Unions Act). The Registrar may unilaterally withdraw the certificate of registration for any registered trade union if, in his opinion, (1) the trade union has wilfully and after notice from the Registrar violated any provisions of the Trade Unions Act; (2) the trade union has ceased to exist; (3) any of the purposes of the trade union is unlawful; or (4) the principal objects of the trade union, as set out in its Constitution, are no longer the purposes set forth in the definition of trade union in section two of the Trade Unions Act, or if, in the Registrar's opinion, the objectives for which the trade union is actually carried on are not in keeping with those purposes (sections 21(d) and 24(1), Trade Unions Act).

Right to collective bargaining

The right to collective bargaining is not protected in law.

Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents

Absence of criteria or discretionary, unclear or unreasonable criteria for determining representative organisations: The national legislation only permits the representation of employees in collective bargaining if over 50% of the staff is unionised and does not grant collective bargaining rights for minority unions, that is rights for all the unions in the unit to negotiate at least on behalf of their members, where the 50% threshold is not reached.

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Authorities’ power to intervene in the preparation of collective agreements: Any trade dispute, whether existing or apprehended, may be reported to the Governor-General by or on behalf of either of the parties to the dispute, and the Governor-General shall thereupon take the matter into his consideration and take such steps as seem to him expedient for promoting a settlement thereof (section 3(1), Trade Disputes Act).

Undermining of the recourse to collective bargaining and his effectiveness

Absence of appropriate mechanisms to encourage and promote machinery for collective bargaining: The Government neither supports nor guarantees collective bargaining. The ILO Committee of Experts has been commenting on this failure for years. Given the absence of any legal requirements, collective bargaining is only practised where there is good will between the parties or a tradition of such negotiations. There is no legal mechanism for enforcing any collective agreements entered into.

Right to strike

The right to strike is recognised in the Labour Law.

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions

Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons): The protections established by the Trade Unions Act only apply in the case of action taken in furtherance of trade disputes, which are defined to mean any dispute between employers and workers, or between workers and workers, which is connected with the employment or non-employment, or the terms of the employment, or with the conditions of labour, of any person (sections 2 and 5, Trade Unions Act).

Restrictions with respect to type of strike action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow): The protections established by the Employment Rights Act only apply to strike action, which is defined as the cessation of work by a body of persons employed, acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal under a common understanding, of any number of persons employed, to continue to work for an employer in consequence of a dispute, done as a means of compelling their employer or any person or body of persons employed, or to aid other employees in compelling their employer or any person or body of persons to accept or not to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment (section 2(1), Employment Rights Act 2012).

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Excessive sanctions for damages caused by strike actions: Section 4 of the Better Security Act, 1920, provides that any person who wilfully breaks a contract of service or hiring, knowing that this could endanger real or personal property, is liable to a fine or up to three months’ imprisonment.

In practice

First Citizens Bank workers on strike over non-respect of the collective agreement09-08-2018

Operations at First Citizens Bank ground to a virtual halt on 8 August, as approximately 75 per cent of workers walked off the job, and gathered instead at the headquarters of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) for closed-door talks.
At issue, according to BWU Assistant General Secretary Dwaine Paul, was the bank’s failure to honour a 2016 wage profit-sharing agreement.
The bank management, which had been in negotiation with the union on a collective agreement for the period 2013 to 2018, sought to withdraw from one of the major components of that negotiation.
Following six hours of talks on 9 August between senior officials of the bank and the BWU, BWU General Secretary Dwaine Paul revealed the two sides had reached an agreement in principle on the contentious issue.

Cost-U-Less restrains trade union action15-08-2017

In August 2017, Cost-U-Less called the police after a trade union representative questioned the retail company’s corporate policies, which contradicted the agreements negotiated with the trade union. The company accused the trade unionist of threatening the representatives of the company with his remarks. The general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore, said that the company had used other union busting tactics throughout 2017, such as dismissing employees for joining the union, adding that the climate of intimidation was obstructing trade union activity.

Union busting by government of Barbados 05-04-2017

On 5 April 2017, during the March of Respect, the general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union denounced the efforts being made to destroy one of its affiliated organisations and to undermine the trade union movement as a whole. The National Union of Public Workers was holding internal elections that day, and a number of government officials had accused the union leaders of holding the elections to serve the interests of the opposition Barbados Labour Party and of serving political interests rather than the genuine interests of the workers.

Precarious employment hampers unionisation and negotiation in domestic work sector31-12-2011

Domestic work in Barbados is precarious, with very low wages that do not correspond to the minimum wage and very limited if any access to social security, as well as unprotected labour rights and conditions. This situation hinders any exercise of the right to organise and collective bargaining. Even where unions are present, collective bargaining remains virtually impossible owing to the legislative constraints in place.

Anti-union discrimination31-12-2011

There are no laws prohibiting anti-union discrimination, which facilitates anti-union practices. As a result, workers dismissed for union activities are rarely able to secure reinstatement and only receive compensation if they obtain a court ruling in their favour. According to the BWU (Barbados Workers’ Union), a law should be passed to make it a punishable offence for employers to deny the right to associate freely.

Government neither supports nor guarantees collective bargaining31-12-2011

Given the absence of any legal requirements, collective bargaining is only practised where there is good will between the parties or a tradition of such negotiations. The national legislation only permits the representation of employees in collective bargaining if over 50% of the staff is unionised. Despite recognising unions, employers often refuse to negotiate collective agreements with them.