Raphael John-Lall
The recent industrial action taken by Caribbean Airlines’ (CAL) pilots and the settling of salary negotiations in the US aviation industry show that there is room for worker representation in modern wage and salary negotiations.
This is the view of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) country representative for T&T, Carina Cockburn.
She said if Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani, after whom the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies is named, were alive today, he would see that the industrial relations and economic conditions of T&T have changed tremendously.
“Were he here some weeks ago, Captain Cipriani would have witnessed the widespread cancellations of flights by Caribbean Airlines when most of their pilots called in sick. Apparently, we are told this took place within the context of an impasse in wage negotiations between CAL and its pilots. After an application by CAL, the Industrial Court granted an emergency injunction barring the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) from engaging in industrial action and instructed that TTALPA direct employees to return to work. Subsequently, it was announced that the Ministry of Labour is to convene a meeting between the parties.”
She added that in other countries there is reportedly a widespread pilot shortage and gave updates of the settling of wage negotiations in the US aviation industry earlier this year.
“Earlier in 2023, Delta Airlines inked what has been described by Reuters as an industry-changing pilot contract that offered US$7 billion in higher pay and benefits. Most of Delta’s pilots are represented by the Airline Pilot Association. American Airlines, United Airlines and South West Airlines were all in the middle of contract negotiations with their pilots when that deal was finalised. By August, American Airlines announced that their pilots, 15,000 of whom are represented by the Allied Pilots’ Association, had ratified a new four-year agreement with the company which will deliver more than US$9 billion in compensation. This after protests by Delta pilots in 2022 and by various groups of American Airline pilots in 2023.
“While we at the IBD express no opinion on any of these protest actions or agreements, what is clear is that there is still an important role for worker representatives and indeed other actors in today’s labour market, even if they are different from what they were 100 years ago,” she said.
Cockburn spoke last week Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean World of Work Forum hosted by the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies in Valsayn.
She then spoke about what the industrial relations climate looks like in 2023 as well as on the and spoke about monopsonies.
In economics, a monopsony is a market structure in which a single buyer substantially controls the market as the major purchaser of goods and services offered by many would-be sellers. The microeconomic theory of monopsony assumes a single entity to have market power over all sellers as the only purchaser of a good or service.
“Only 90 years ago in 1933, the economist Joan Robinson described what she called monopsony theory in her book, ‘The Economics of Imperfect Competition.’ In monopsony, there is one dominnant power in the buying relationship with little compensation from other buyers. This allows buyers to set the price lower than otherwise would obtain in an otherwise more competitive market.
“In a labour market, a monopsony can be a potential cause of labour market failure where a dominant employer has wage setting power over potential employees and may end up paying less than optimal wages for the worker and employing fewer workers.”
Cockburn said in many cases, it may suit those employers to operate at a lower equilibrium of wages and quantity of workers than in a more competitive market thereby contributing to possible losses in equity and economic growth.
“At that time Robinson was attempting to explain the wage gap between women and male workers but today perhaps a monopsony could explain the behaviour of labour markets in which the Government is the largest employer. Or the relationship between farms and workers in the gig economy, for example Uber and its drivers.”
She added that even when monopsonies are not present, various other factors can contribute to an imbalance of power between employers and workers.
“For instance, there could be information asymmetries or legal frameworks and requirements which limit specialisation of labour, either of which could tilt negotiating power in favour of employers and place workers at a disadvantage. Effective worker representation can help empower workers within the labour market to lower inequities and enhance economic outcomes.”
She said all stakeholders like the state, business and labour all have a role to play in creating an environment in which workers’ rights are respected, productivity can increase and the eoncomy can flourish.
“In T&T we can envision a more intentional utilisation of labour-related stakeholder inputs in the development of policies and legislation especially those that may not immeditely seem to be directly linked to labour.”
Economic and social changes
Cockburn said the labour movement in the Caribbean enjoys a rich and powerful history which covers social campaigns like the right to vote, self government, independence and regional integration.
“The movement also spanned racial lines, culminating in an unstoppable force for change during the post and pre-colonial eras.”
Speaking about the labour landscape in 2023, she said there are many more women in leadership positions, computer and mobile phone technology is widespread and a basic 40-hour-work week exists with paid vacation and medical and pension plans.
“Here in T&T, there is a diverse workforce. Nationals are captains of industry. There is a generally higher standard of living for most of the population than obtained in 1923.”
