If Sir Leroy Trotman as an officially retired trade unionist is still holding sway in the Barbados Workers’ Union and even negotiating still at Government’s Bay St headquarters earlier this month (to the derision of Barbadians on social media asking if this is Toni Trotman or Sir Leroy Moore, making a play on the allegedly genuine head of the BWU – Toni Moore) then why are BIDC employees forced to retire?

If Desmond Browne, the former principal of Lodge was asked to re-emerge from retirement to head St Leonard’s Boys Secondary to re-instill discipline into that institution almost a decade ago, then why are people from BIDC made to stop working because they are now 60?

Realising time was at a premium as well as as jockeying with other reporters who were openly scared I was asking questions I let them ask theirs first before I ” — annoyed the Minister, then she won’t want to talk to anybody…” This may sound maddening, but it’s a genuine quote from a so-called journalist present.

Byer stated her jurisprudence is more with Private Sector and that is also why she has left the ongoing plight of NCC workers in the hand of the latest incarnation of the Employment Rights Tribunal (their predecessors resigned abruptly in December 2014 over poor working conditions) – the following is her comments in full (CLICK ON FOLLOWING ICON FOR FULL AUDIO, SMARTPHONE & TABLET USERS PLEASE CLICK ON Dr Byer’s NAME FOR LINK TO AUDIO);-

The Senator herself alluded to the fact how the Social Partnership (where Government, the Unions and the Private Sector confer on wage related issues) is now over two decades old and what obtained then may not apply now, so Bajan Reporter reminded her how people live longer and since many countries are extending retirement what is her view? (CLICK ON FOLLOWING ICON FOR FULL AUDIO, SMARTPHONE & TABLET USERS PLEASE CLICK ON Dr Byer’s NAME FOR LINK TO AUDIO);-

Having established that if ages 67 or even 72 may not seem unlikely for extension, I then asked Dr Byer why are BIDC staff being made to go home, her answer full of hesitation was terse and seemed to evade the original intent of my question… (CLICK ON FOLLOWING ICON FOR FULL AUDIO, SMARTPHONE & TABLET USERS PLEASE CLICK ON Dr Byer’s NAME FOR LINK TO AUDIO);-

My only regret in the whole exchange was I did not keep the recorder running after her last answer as she told GIS’ reporter (who was apparently alarmed at my reasoning) that since Ian Bourne as Bajan Reporter works for himself then he can afford to ask that kind of question, and she expects (me) to do it… Is she implying if I was under the Nation or Advocate then I’d be reprimanded for doing my job? Is this good labour relations? Or did I misinterpret her comment after my query? Do we ask Sir Leroy Trotman or Toni Moore? Maybe we should just let the insinuation … retire? 😉