The Employers’ Consultative Association of T&T (ECA) is calling for employers and business owners to be wary before they retrench workers as doing so will contribute to a deeper slowdown of the T&T economy.
“Retrenchment of workers will serve to perpetuate the current period of decline and further derail the country’s chances of experiencing a turnaround in growth and development. The ECA urges employers therefore to carefully weigh the decision to ‘lay off workers’ during this economic crunch, ensuring that all possible alternatives for higher levels of productivity and innovation have been explored,” the ECA said in a reply to the Guardian last Friday.
The Guardian had asked for the ECA’s position on the dismissal of 600 workers of ArcelorMittal steel company two Mondays ago.
In a press release, the ArcelorMittal had said: “Following the inability to reach agreement with the Steel Workers Union of T&T (SWUTT) on a proposal from the management of ArcelorMittal Point Lisas for workers with accrued vacation days to proceed on paid vacation, while workers who do not have vacation leave to engage in alternative functions on a temporary basis outside of their normal duties, the Company has had no option but to begin a process of laying-off workers.”
The ECA said as a result of the current, global pressures and poor economic conditions, businesses will be experiencing undue pressure for even greater efficiency and higher productivity in their operations in order to stave off instances of layoffs which will be the “final nail in the business coffin.”
The employers’ body also said that scenarios like ArcelorMittal’s laying off of workers is “unfortunate” and “undesirable” and the ECA calls for all stakeholders to exhibit some magnanimity in what is undoubtedly a protracted period of economic uncertainty.
“Most importantly, this lay-off decision is a stark reminder that at this time, it cannot be business as usual for both employers and employees in general. The ECA continues to call for continuous consultation among all social partners as this will contribute to the flow and distillation of ideas and feasible solutions to combat the treacherous recession wave. The country stands to benefit from genuine social dialogue and ‘all hands on deck’ by the Tripartite bodies. This is the time for Consultation not Confrontation!”
