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The emergence of these economic sectors was
matched by the BLP’s implementation of social
legislation that is still transforming the lives
of Barbadians to this day. These include the
enactment of the Protection of Wages Act and the
Holiday with Pay for Workers Act. Always mindful
of the needs of the vulnerable, Unemployment
Insurance, introduced in the early 1980s through
the National Insurance Scheme, expanded the
social safety net. These were signal achievements.
Recognising the need to further diversify the post-
Independence economy, the BLP moved ahead in
the 1970s with the development of the domestic
financial sector – the creation of the Barbados
National Bank (BNB) and the InsuranceCorporation
of Barbados (ICB) – and the international financial
services sector. At the same time, the BLP’s use
of fiscal incentives led to the extremely successful
growth of our credit union movement, that is now
responsible for almost $2 billion in savings.
During the 1990s, policies were also adopted for
the encouragement of Barbadian investment
in the domestic transport sector and the food
and restaurant industry. Fiscal incentives were
also used to propel our first real entry into the
renewable energy sector with tax allowances
being granted for solar water heaters, creating
hundreds of jobs and significantly reducing our
oil import bill, while saving foreign exchange.
Subsequently, a comprehensive Green Economy
Policy was prepared, forming the basis of much
of the activity now taking place on Renewable
Energy.
In more recent times, the establishment of the
Fair Trading Commission in 2001, was another
critical milestone in the modernization of our
economy. This allowed for the protection of the
rights of consumers, the protection against unfair
competition and the independent regulation of
our utilities.
The BLP implemented a watershed achievement
in national social progress with the passage of the
revolutionary Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act,
which enabled tens of thousands of Barbadians to
become landowners and to significantly improve
their housing across plantation tenantries.
Subsequent amendments extended its reach
through a modified subsidy applicable to urban
and non-plantation tenantries in the late 1990s.
Protection for families was similarly revolutionized
