Good Workplace Practices

Five of these listeners, including a 14-yearold schoolboy and a 75-year-old grandmother of three, were recently awarded prizes, at the TSTT Hospitality Suite, Queen’s Park Oval, for their successful participation in question-andanswer segments that accompanied the airing of this series of informational radio ads. Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development Jennifer Baptiste-Primus was on hand for the prize-giving. Corporate Communications Manager of the Ministry, Bobbi Jeffrey, explained that the Chronicles of Labourville campaign was crafted to help persons understand, “what are the rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees in the workplace.

It takes two hands to clap. We wanted to find an engaging way to bring everybody together, something everybody could relate to.” Jeffrey added that like all other initiatives and programmes of the Ministry, this campaign is directly aligned to Government policy vis-?-vis ensuring that the population is up to date and informed of international labour engagement trends, as a consequence of globalization and the need for employers and industry to become more flexible and competitive and providing a clear framework of the rights and responsibilities in the workplace. TSTT’s Manager Government Sales & Services, Gervon Abraham congratulated the Ministry’s Corporate Communications Unit, which was responsible for the production of the radio campaign, and promised, “blink | bmobile Foundation remains ready and willing to participate in programmes that contribute to the growth of society.”

Abraham said that TSTT as a 51% government owned business was “a partner in education, a partner in sponsorship, yes, but also a partner in youth development.” Hence, he told the winners, “I am glad that you all decided to participate. Education is important because it is a tool for mobility.” Seventy-five-year-old Carmen Thomas, who listened to the Chronicles of Labourville on I95.5 radio station, said, “I am still in the classroom and I like to get information to share with the young people.” Thomas teaches disadvantaged youth at the Eternal Light Community Vocational School. She said she entered the competition “like everybody else but I was not expecting to win. I was pleasantly surprised.” Fourteen-year-old Zachery Lucas, who listened to the radio ad campaign series on The Word 107.1, said he likewise “was ecstatic about winning. When I heard my name on the radio I was literally shouting.”

Zachery said he decided to participate in the competition segment of the radio campaign for two reasons: (1) for an entire week he heard adult callers to the station fail to answer correctly the question on good industrial relations practice; and (2) the prize provided by blink | bmobile was an incentive. The Chronicles of Labourville aired on five radio stations, including Red 96.7, Radio Tambrin 92.7, and WABC103.1.

The radio series is set in a small village in Trinidad and Tobago known as Labour Ville, and “explores common workplace issues that arise on a daily basis between workers and employers.” Apart from teaching listeners their rights and responsibilities in the workplace, the radio campaign also highlighted the role of the Conciliation Unit in the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development where persons can turn to for advice. The other winners of the competition were Nadikanta Ramcharan, Jaynelle Sealy and Jayelle Baptiste.