By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce last night reiterated concerns that the National Tripartite Council (NTC) may have violated its own founding Act by failing to get “unanimous” agreement on the controversial labour law reforms before they were tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The Chamber, in a statement that emphasised the private sector’s deeply-rooted, widespread concerns over the changes (see other articles on Page 1B) to the Employment and Industrial Relations Acts, argued that the reforms “should not be promoted as having been recommended by the NTC”.

Tribune Business understands that the Chamber is especially unhappy that the two amending Bills are being portrayed as unanimously agreed and approved by the National Tripartite Council, when one of its three member bodies - the private sector - was opposed to virtually all the proposals.

It is understood that the proposed changes to the Employment and Industrial Relations Acts, which underwent their first House of Assembly reading yesterday, came solely from the two other stakeholders - the trade unions and the Government, via the Department of Labour.

“Unfortunately, the Bills were drafted and tabled without the unanimous decision of the NTC, and therefore should not be promoted as having been recommended by the NTC,” the Chamber said last night.

It reiterated concerns, first expressed in a December 20, 2016, letter to NTC chairman, Robert Farquharson, that the body, which was created to resolve labour-related issues in a consensual manner, could only recommend changes to existing laws if there was unanimous agreement between all stakeholders.

“Any decisions from the NTC, which are not unanimously agreed by the executive members, constituting a quorum in any meeting, will be ultra vires to the powers derived under the National Tripartite Council Act,” the Chamber warned yesterday.

Its concerns are founded in the National Tripartite Council Act’s section three, sub-section one, clauses a) and b), which mandate that any recommendations it submits to the Government must by “unanimously agreed” by the three stakeholders represented - the Government, private sector and the trade unions (labour) - in a valid quorum.

Meanwhile, pointing out that the National Tripartite Council had proven its worth as a mechanism for resolving labour matters by facilitating agreement on the minimum wage increase, the Chamber effectively called for a halt to the Bills’ passage through Parliament to allow time for more consultation and negotiations.

Given the impending general election, and suspicions that the Bills have been tabled now in a bid by the Government to gain union/labour votes, it appears unlikely there will be any delay.

The Chamber, though, warned that the changed would “have a profound impact on all stakeholders”, including the Government in this definition as well as employers and employees.

“Employers are charged with the responsibility of making practical decisions for the viability of their business. A business which remains open is one where employees remain employed,” it argued.

“However, many of these recommendations threaten to cripple and/or bankrupt most businesses, especially small businesses, in the Bahamas resulting in lay-offs and business closures.

“In this present uncertain economic climate, employers cannot shoulder additional financial burden. It is most concerning that in proposing amendments to the Bills, there has been no consideration of empirical data of the cost of such amendments to businesses, which will likely threaten the viability of many businesses to remain open, especially given the aforementioned challenging economic climate.”

The Chamber argued that the development, and passage, of pension legislation would “have far greater benefits” than changes to the redundancy law, and the employee-employer relationship, when it came “to the protection of rights of employees”.

It added: “The employer representatives implore the Government to recognise that the private sector creates jobs and wealth, and therefore policy decisions must focus on creating an enabling environment for enterprise creation and development, while balancing the need for equitable regulation of business practices. Policy cannot be determined in response to isolated or rare circumstances but rather to address normal practices.

“The costs of doing business in the Bahamas, coupled with the continued sluggish economic environment, requires that the NTC structure be carefully guarded and used to bring recommendations and policies that protect the viability of businesses, which provides economic and employment opportunities.

“Policies must balance the protection of rights of employees with the attendant costs of such protections that threaten the going concern of business,” the Chamber continued.

“We therefore encourage the Government to enable more time for the NTC to analyse and negotiate, in good faith, the recommendations set out in the proposed Bills, and obtain greater empirical evidence to support the positions taken that will impact the Bahamian economy when it can least afford it. The adage ‘less haste, more speed’ is to be taken to heart.”