UWI lecturer says Chinese labour presents challenges for the Caribbean
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| Published on Saturday, June 30, 2007 |
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POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe: Caribbean tourism human resources professionals have been told to be aware of the changing nature of labour in the region brought on by the importation of workers, as they seek to develop proper work ethics.
Lecturer in Management Studies at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados, Akhentoolove Corbin, told delegates attending the 3rd Tourism Human Resources Conference here that the movement of labour, particularly immigrant labour from China and Malaysia, poses a challenge for Caribbean employers and human resource managers, especially those in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Corbin said the tourism, hospitality and services sector should be particularly mindful of the different practices introduced by the Chinese workers.
“For example, the Chinese have a method of work communities that when they come it is a community of work. And in terms of working hours it is not a work day, it is work…so when you have a community where you are not distracted by other social factors that in itself provides a significant change in work pattern,” he told the more than 75 delegates gathered at the Arawak Hotel. “And when you look at economies of scale, when you look at creating efficiencies, the question is how can we compete?”
Corbin, who was addressing the subject, “Changing Patterns in the World of Work and their Relevance to the Caribbean Region,” added that human resources managers had to address a number of other key issues regarding conditions of work as they relate to Chinese labour and its impact on the tourism and services sector.
“How they are paid? What benefits do they have? Do they have health service benefits? Are there occupational health and safety standards? Who monitors these things?” he asked, adding, “And they are directly competing with Caribbean labour.”
The university lecturer told the delegates that productivity and performance were becoming issues of concern for the hospitality sector, along with time spent on the job.
He suggested that human resource managers must strike a balance between the number of hours spent at work and productivity.
“I can have people conforming to a work week, but the more important question is not whether you had a work week that is fair and just but whether you had a work week that is efficient. So you can work long hours and not be productive and efficient. And I think that is an issue we need to be mindful of as we seek to develop decent work,” he said.
Discussion on the “Changing Patterns in the World of Work and their Relevance to the Caribbean Region” was led by Paula Robinson, senior specialist for workers’ activities at the Trinidad-based sub-regional office of the International Labour Organization (ILO). She presented the findings and conclusions of a report entitled “Changing Patterns in the World of Work” produced for the 95th Session of the International Labour Conference last year.
More than 75 delegates from across the region are participating in the three-day 3rd Tourism Human Resources Conference, organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in collaboration with the Guadeloupe Tourist Board, the Guadeloupe Hospitality Institute and the Regional Council of Guadeloupe.
Themed, “Leading Change in Tourism Within a Dynamic, Global Environment,” the conference targets tourism and hospitality educators, trainers, human resource professionals/consultants and managers with responsibility for human resources across the region.
It is funded in part by the European Union within the framework of the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme. | | | | Reads : 34 |
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