DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN- THE DEBATE

February 16, 2006

Last week on my way to Cloister Book Store, I was stopped by three groups of Taxi men who requested of me to continue to represent their interest in Parliament and they went on to express their concerns to me. I was told they were being treated as “outside children” and because they operated in town, no one cared about them. I was asked to continue to represent their interest because I am there “dog”. The impression is given that if you operate at the ports of entry, everything is well, but others are seen as persons who have to depend on their own survival, so they do not matter.

One week later, it was reported that they were moved from their prime location and slotted in a side street to compete with Chefette for space. These men know that if they were to accept their new location that they would soon have to move because it is impossible for jacks to take away space from sharks. I was happy when they defended the shark.

I am told that tourism is our main Industry and February is the best month for tourism, so who would be mad enough to interfere with the taxi drivers when it is expected that this is the time when we should be doing everything to keep our productive workers happy. The Ministry officials should know that taxis are an integral part of the industry and any work that has to be done in that area, must wait until the end of the season, or should be done at night when productive workers have vacated the area.

Just a week ago, we were informed that 50 persons owned 200 taxis in the Port. These taxis owners should be fighting the system to remove the Transport Buses from the Port that are forcing them at present to compete with the Bridgetown taxis for work. These taxis should be seen as feeders for the ones in Bridgetown during the peak season.

Space must be provided for these taxis because they have to satisfy both the land based and the sea based tourists. Nothing must be done to create stress for these gentlemen and women. They are the beginning and the end of the tourist industry. The tourist sees them first and last, and their impressions will decide the increased capacity of the country.

Too many persons are seeing these productive workers as nobodies, and should know by now that any withdrawal of services by these groups would see a serious drop in foreign reserves. What is interesting is that we seem not to be able to appreciate the base of our tourism industry, and we seem to believe that it is possible to build a house without a foundation. This country needs to get back its base, because we seem not to appreciate that Capital is not all, but you need to blend Capital and Workers. It is time somebody tells this Government that Production = Workers + Capital; Capital = Production – Workers; and Workers = Production – Capital. Once these formulae are appreciated, then taxi workers and other workers that are regarded as low end workers will be appreciated.

Too many persons believe that the most important person in a company is the managing director. This is not true! People should understand that it is easier to run a company without a managing director, than to run it without productive workers. Workers provide a need for a managing director. It is the performance of workers that should decide whether a managing director is needed. The reason why we are not as productive as we should be is because we normally hire a managing director and then look for workers, without appreciating that sometimes the best managing directors can come from the workers.

Production workers make managing directors and if you have bad workers, then the performance of the managing director can be shown up. If you have a bad managing director and good workers, then the shortfalls of the managing director can be covered. But if you have a good managing director and poor workers, then you have a problem. The key to success is ensuring that you have a proper base, getting that right is the beginning and not the end.

The Ministry of Tourism must be told that one would have expected him to support the workers in the Industry especially at this time when we are so dependent on this particular season. After bragging about the amount of capital invested in the Industry, the Minister seems not to understand that Capital cannot work itself. We need the workers in all aspects of the industry, including the taxi drivers who are the first and last to deal with tourists, before or after leaving the Port.

I want to thank the “Market Vendor” for understanding the meaning of Free Secondary Education and that a flashing light is a Roundabout, and that a Working Light is a silent policeman. By now, I hope that the Big-ups in Barbados realize that Taxi drivers, Maids, Vendors, Nurses, Labourers, Shop Assistants, Gardeners, Soil Technicians, Fishermen, Small Farmers and Shopkeepers, etc. are people too, and they should be treated like the Market Vendor, then Barbados would be a better place. Before we had businessmen, we had shopkeepers, Fishermen and Vendors, and no Foreign Debt.

We now feel we have a voice in Barbados, because we have seen and heard that a “Market Vendor” has been accepted in Barbados and how he is attending Cocktail parties on “our behalf”.  So I now know  that the “Market Vendor”  would not be putting a case for the Vendors, the Taxi Drivers, Fishermen, Maids last,  but not least, a case for the workers who were removed from their place of work and sent to Harrison Point. These workers were provided with lunch up to the end of December 2005 and at the beginning of the year had no budget for another increase in fuel, CESS, NIS and inflation. These workers have not been compensated for their transfer to a place of work which is not normal, but are now requested to provide their own sustenance in a foreign land.

I want to tell the “Market Vendor” that we are backing you and we know that you will not use us to look after yourself. We are sure that you will tell the Government that cars do not destroy Roundabouts that are costly to the taxpayers. We expect you to tell the Government that we are not fools, and we do not want Robots to tell us to stop when the road is clear. You see Comrade, I am only a shopkeeper so I would not know that a roundabout means Localization, while Traffic Lights mean Foreign Currency. When we build roundabouts, we provide work for people in Barbados, but when we buy lights, we provide jobs for friends overseas and destroy our foreign reserves.

Market Vendor, you think you can use your new status to get a Vendor, Fisherman, Shopkeeper or maid to sit with David or Dennis one of these days. You sound like a man that is genuine and would not use people to look after your interest or that of your friends. So we are depending on you hear. Do not forget it is the people’s forum and that should mean everybody. Do not be like the politicians at election time. I know that you do not have a price, so you cannot be bought out, so we are backing you and we hope that you back us hear.

Peace, love, unity and understanding.

(Denis Kellman is the Member of Parliament for St. Lucy, Barbados)