The Barbados Employers’ Confederation said Tuesday that the Barbados Workers’ Union’s demand for a 17 percent increase over three years for Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Ltd. workers was too high.The wages would be retroactive as the time period under negotiation is 2009-2011.The BEC, a trade union which represents several of Barbados’ largest companies at wages negotiations, said “it is our considered opinion that the wages demand, which has been publicly stated by the employees’ representative, requires significant downward modification.”It said that businesses could not afford the level of wage increases being sought at a time “when companies are seeing significant reductions in profits, depressed domestic demand for products and services, and rising operating costs...with a road of uncertainty still ahead.”

The BEC called on both parties to continue the bargaining process so that “a reasonable settlement is achieved, without industrial dislocation, which permits the company to maintain its current staffing levels for as long as is economically possible, while rewarding their staff with a fair compensation deal for their efforts.”