BECon Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of Bahamas Employers Confederation will be held at 5:30PM on Thursday, the 27th of September 2001 at the Chamber of Commerce Building located on the corner of Shirley St. and Collins Ave. Formal notification of the meeting will be sent out shortly. All members are asked to attend this very important meeting.

BECon/Coalition Status

A series of meetings have been held culminating in decisions yesterday to send a letter to the Prime Minister no later than Friday afternoon expressing our concerns about the proposed labour bills. The letter will request a meeting with the P. M. in order to discuss employer concerns and to go over in detail the draft Employment Act dated 29th of June, 2001. Once finalized, a copy of the letter will be sent to all members.

An advertisement is being planned for insertion in the newspapers on Thursday of next week. The ad will feature comments made by the International Monetary Fund that emphasize the need to analyze carefully the implications of the draft labour legislations.

A special meeting of employers is planned for Friday, the 7th of September, from 9:00am to 12:00 Noon at the British Colonial Hilton. This meeting will focus on the potential impact on the economy and your business that can result upon implementation of the proposed labour bills. All interested employers are invited to attend.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

The oft quoted line of William Shakespeare, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" points out that the name or word itself is not important, it is the substance of the name or word that is important. However human nature prompts us to feel differently based on the word rather than the meaning.

Bahamian society admires the entrepreneur. School children are urged to explore the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur. The sole purpose of the government corporation, Bahamas Agricultural & Industrial Corp, is to provide assistance to Bahamian entrepreneurs. It is well known that entrepreneurs contribute to the economic development of The Bahamas through diversification and job creation. A dictionary definition of entrepreneur is a risk-taking businessperson, somebody who sets up and finances new commercial enterprises to make a profit. Some of those risk-takers are not successful and not only do they lose the money they invested in the commercial venture; they lose the time they invested as well, something that can never be recovered. For those entrepreneurs that are successful, the profit earned is well deserved since they took the risk of failure. It is no wonder that we have such high regard for our entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are generally self-employed. Self-employed persons are naturally esteemed in Bahamian society because they are, after all, entrepreneurs. Although some self-employed persons are freelance and work on their own, many run a business. Businesspersons are naturally respected since they are self-employed entrepreneurs. In running their business businesspersons have vendors that they purchase goods and services from, and they have customers or clients that they provide services or products to. In addition, they have employees, which makes them employers.

Up to this point the words used - entrepreneur, self-employed person, businessperson - are considered by most to be venerated members of our society. However, a drastic change takes place when the word "employer" is used. No longer do we think of hard working, energetic, motivated men and women who take risks in order to better themselves and society. Instead a sinister connotation is evoked.

It seems the popular definition of employer is a mean, ruthless, cruel, harsh, unfair, greedy tyrant who dominates and oppresses employees, keeping them down, bullying them, and taking advantage of them in unreasonable, unkind, and unsympathetic ways in a malicious, insensitive, and inconsiderate manner. Unfortunately this perception seems to be in vogue with government as reflected in the proposed labour legislations. It also appears to have permeated the courts based on some of the rulings passed down in the last few years that are in direct opposition to advice given to employers by the Department of Labour during the last 25 years.

It can reasonably be argued that depending on the name given to the rose, many would not come close enough to discover the sweet smell.

This needs to change. It needs to be recognized by Bahamian society (and government and the courts) that employers are synonymous with "businesspersons", "self-employed persons" and "entrepreneurs". Employers are vital to the economic structure of any country. Government should be concerned with providing an environment conducive to business through legislation and policies, but by the proposed Employment Act, it instead is trying to implement a national contract of employment that in effect becomes one set of terms and conditions of employment that is applicable to every individual business within The Bahamas, regardless of the individual business' distinctions or uniqueness.

It's time for Bahamian society to wake up and smell the roses.

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