The Anguilla House of Assembly has stayed its hand on two pieces of legislation for the time being. The move is to give the electorate – and the general public for that matter – a chance to join their elected representatives in a study of the provisions and to guide them on how they should proceed in the national interest.

The Government side of the House of Assembly, CM Fleming (standing) addressing Speaker. (Mr. Albert Hughes not in photo)

Up for examination are the The Labour Code Bill, 2005 and the Physical Planning Bill, 2005 both of which were given their first readings when the House of Assembly convened on Tuesday, August 23, with the Speaker, David Carty, presiding. In a rare spirit of cooperation and statesmanship, both Government and Opposition members readily agreed to postpone the debate on the draft legislation and allow the people to empower them through consultations at public meetings and forums. It is a decision that has been applauded on the island and an indication that democracy is alive and thriving well in Anguilla.

At the commencement of the proceedings, the Speaker told the House he had decided that because of the importance of the Bills and in the interest of transparent Government and democracy the second reading, at which members were expected to render serious and wise input, should be postponed to give various constituencies more time to air their views to their respective representatives. He invited the Chief Minister and the Opposition side “to say a few words to underscore the importance of this legislation to the community after which the meeting would be adjourned and set a date for the second reading at which serious input will be given.”

The Labour Code Bill is for an Act to prescribe minimum conditions of employment to provide for the resolution of disputes between employees and employers and for the administration and observance of labour laws generally and other matters connected therewith.

The Physical Planning Bill is for an Act to make provision for the orderly and progressive development of land, preserve and improve the amenities thereof; for the grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land; for the regulation of the construction of buildings and related matters; to confer additional powers in respect of the acquisition and development of land for planning; and for purposes connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Commenting on the Labour Code Bill, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming noted that unlike previous years Anguilla had now reached a point where labour had become a very important part of the island’s development. He said a lot of preparation had gone into the Bill and he was very impressed with its provisions.

“It has addressed all of the needs we should be concerned with and it prepares us for centuries to come,” he went on. “To that end I believe the people of Anguilla need to be more aware of what is in this Bill. There have been opportunities whereby people were allowed to sit and discuss, but now that the Bill is in its format before the House where we have the opportunity to correct, update or improve what we have here…To that end, Mr. Speaker, we have decided to provide the people of Anguilla with a chance to be more abreast with this Bill by having four forums throughout the island to discuss this important Bill.

“It is a serious Bill and I believe what you have said here this morning is well received: that we should sensitize the people of Anguilla a little bit more as to what is in this Bill before its final passage.

Opposition Members Hubert Hughes (standing) and Edison Baird

“Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I want to say that this Government has recognised the importance, more than ever, of the functioning of the Labour Department because it is unbelievable what is happening in Anguilla today when it comes to labour. We must put in place the legislation to protect not only the employees but also the employers…This Bill is for both parties and we must be fair with our decisions in this legislation… I ask my colleagues on both sides (of the House) to let us look at this Bill out of politics in a bipartisan way, in the interest of the people of Anguilla on a whole.”

Opposition Member for Road North, Edison Baird, said: “I fully agree with you, Mr. Speaker that we need to have openness and transparency in this House, especially in regard to matters that can have a severe potential impact upon the people of Anguilla. The Labour Code is an important Bill because it seeks to regulate a number of relationships between the employer and the employee, the relationship of the Government with the worker and the employer and ultimately with society.

“I therefore believe that it is a good idea that the ordinary man on the street can have an input into this Bill. People are more inclined to support laws that they have had a say in, even if that say amounts to just an input and to have that input seriously evaluated and considered by this Honourable House.

“Speaking ahead of the matter under discussion, he continued: “In regard to the Physical Planning Bill, this too is a very important Bill; and it is evidenced by the fact that this Bill first made its way into this House in 2001 but, despite the fact that the Government has always had a majority, it was never brought to a full discussion in this House. It was my understanding that even within the ranks of Government there were disagreements in regard to this Bill.” Mr. Baird said the proposed legislation would regulate the Anguillian society in a number of ways – even to the extent that it would regulate what a person can do in his backyard, such as cutting down a tree.”

He fully agreed that the House should approach both Bills in a non-partisan manner because they would be around for a long time and the Anguillian society has reached a stage where it was necessary to regulate what goes on in the island.
Opposition Member Hubert Hughes was of the view that with the industrial development now taking place in Anguilla, the Labour Code should have the input of the people. He emphasised that with the major development being conducted by expatriate concerns, “the economy of the island will depend on the workers getting a fair slice of the cake.”

In a well-reasoned and objective manner he said there was a need for a fair labour law to give the Government the authority to set a minimum wage and to provide for severance pay. He described this as a crucial element which should be addressed. “As representatives of the people of Anguilla, we should do this in the interest of economic viability and social stability because if the people are not happy there is going to be disorder.

Mr. Hughes pointed out that, like every country, Anguilla was in need of foreign investment and that responsible representatives of the people must set the conditions to attract that investment and guarantee the investor an atmosphere of stability. “If the country is unstable, we would not be able to attract the meaningful investment we need to propel our economy so there is a balancing act that must be established,” he observed. “We must have a Labour Code that is fair to all sides and that is exactly what we should emphasise…I do not care what else may be in this Bill but the essence of the legislation should take account of the fact that the Anguilla society today is no longer based on the old concept of reading, writing and arithmetic… We are moving now into the industrial era of providing people for the job place.”

The Opposition spokesman further stated: “As we go around to the people we have to emphasise that no matter how strong a labour law is, the Labour Department is not a labour union. Too many people come to the conclusion that the Labour Office can solve disputes. It can only serve as a go-between and a tribunal. The people must organise themselves into a workers organisation where they can negotiate with the management such matters of conditions of work and compensation.”

The House of Assembly came next to the Physical Planning Bill. Chief Minister Fleming said his views on the Labour Code were also applicable that Bill. He reiterated that the people of Anguilla should have an input in the Physical Planning legislation. He acknowledged that he has had reservations about it for quite a while, but he thought the time had come for the House to put it into place.

Mr. Baird who had already made his views known on the Physical Planning Bill had no further comments, but his Opposition colleague, Mr. Hughes, joined him in noting the draft legislation had been before the House since 2001. He pointed out that many persons had expressed serious concerns about the Bill since there was already an Act on the books which was “quite comprehensive, appropriates and restrictive.” Mr. Hughes argued that “any legislation that is going to retard progress and interfere with the natural culture of a particular people is negative legislation.” He added: “As we go around this island, we need to take account of the fact that had it not been for our particular culture, which is probably different and unique in the Caribbean, the type of development of private homes that we have would never have occurred and nobody would have been interested in an island that looked deserted. The people of Anguilla have made the island attractive. The hurricanes that have hit the rest of the islands (and destroyed many of the houses) testify to the fact that Anguillian builders are the best in the Caribbean, even better than some in America. We have had floods and hurricanes of up to 200 miles per hour winds or more and we have had less damage than any of the other islands which Hurricanes Luis or Lenny touched.

“If the Physical Planning Bill is to have any meaning, it must not restrict our culture. What I have seen in this Bill I think it is alien in character so far. In going around, we need to take the people’s observations and comments into consideration before coming back to this Assembly. If I have to make an application to build a house as an Anguillian, and it is going to take me going through so many processes and so much time, I will get frustrated and generally the community gets frustrated and the housed-building culture in Anguilla completely disappears because it is becoming too difficult.”

Following the contribution by Mr. Hughes, Chief Minister Fleming told the Speaker that it would take about four weeks for the public discussions on the Bills to take place before the House of Assembly would be ready to meet for the second reading of the legislation. He stressed again the importance of the Bills and said that the Government would invite the members of the Opposition to participate in the public meetings.

Mr. Hughes commented: “Mr. Speaker, I share the sentiments of the Honourable Chief Minister wholeheartedly. I think these Bills are too nationalistic to be played in party politics. As elected representatives of the people we have a moral responsibility to forget our own political wellbeing and deal seriously with the peoples’ business and I am well happy that the Chief Minister has come up with this idea and I am sure that the Member for Road North [Edison Baird] would concur in this well. We are ready and willing to move around collectively with the other representatives of the people to discuss these Bills.”

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