Supermarket Ass'n, Labour Ministry launch public webinars

A SERIES of public webinars, designed to empower grocery, pharmacy and retail store owners and employees throughout TT, was launched via Zoom on Wednesday.

The series began by attracting scores of participants, including many experts in the public and business sectors.

It is being executed by the labour ministry, the Supermarkets Association (SATT) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and continues every Wednesday at 1 pm until August 19.

Representatives of all three parties met at the ministry's office on Thursday.

Diptee said, "The association feels a very strong obligation to its members and the wider retail sector as we engage in this ground-breaking suite of webinars with the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development.

"We absolutely agree that this public private sector collaboration is essential to assist supermarkets as well as other small and medium enterprises in various facets of their operations as per labour policies."

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, meanwhile, said the "recovery period" calls for the collaboration given the difficulty of businesses in adjusting to the "new normal" on their own.

"This multi-pronged initiative is the first of its kind and provides the stimulus for the development and continuation of robust collaboration between government organisations, the business community and the workforce."

At the sessions, participants are engaged in topics that the ministry says will guide the way in which businesses operate within the ambit of the labour laws, especially while adapting to the "new normal inherent to the post-covid work environment."

The ministry and SATT have encouraged those in the relevant sectors to register and participate. It can be done on either of their websites.