As The Bahamas celebrates another Randol Fawkes Labour Day with low levels of unemployment, Bahamians should take notice of the relative calm in the ranks of the Trade Union movement in the country.

While there are grievances and unresolved issues, to be sure, it is commendable that the Minister of Labour and the Public Service, Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle and her team have settled the majority of disputes or unsigned industrial contracts that were outstanding.

The trade union movement should now take on the bigger issues which the country faces like the impact of the imported inflation from the United States, the threat from the Trump administration of increased rates of tariffs on products from a number of countries, including The Bahamas and particularly against China, one of the biggest producers on goods in the world.  While unionists normally focus on the quality of governance at home, it is usually the geopolitical movements that determine the cost of living and socioeconomic stresses which bedevil workers.

Most economists and financial analysts in The Bahamas agree that the Bahamian economy is strong with positive developments in the construction industry and with tourist arrivals reaching the highest level in our history.  There is no doubt that the level of investor confidence in the country is exceptionally high.  The big players in the Cruise ship industry like Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities in The Bahamas to accommodate their passengers, and the long-awaited sale of the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Grand Bahama is to be consummated in the next few months.  The signing of a deal for the investment of almost a billion dollars on that island was welcomed by Bahamians of every political entity.

No one can deny that the Davis administration is working hard and is bringing a high level of solid foreign direct investments to the country.

The other issue workers should examine is our relationship with China and the value of it for our country’s growth and development.

We are also delighted to learn that China is about to conclude the arrangements for $290 million for the construction of a new specialty hospital in New Providence.

While there is a small number of Bahamians who are concerned about American propaganda on China’s influence in the Caribbean, the Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas, Yan Jiarong, says the partnership between The Bahamas and China and other nations in the Caribbean and Latin America has been mutually beneficial.

She told the media this week that China firmly supports the political and sovereign independence of these countries, as well as the true economic and cultural independence.  The Trade Union movement could take a stand to support the Bahamian government against unfounded American disinformation, while educating their members on how the U.S. has neglected its allies in the challenges of the region.

It should not be lost on anyone that Prime Minister Philip Davis and the last Free National Movement administration have reached out unsuccessfully to U.S. government entities for assistance to improve infrastructure in The Bahamas.

The Americans have “taken for granted” the support of Caribbean and seem threatened in any cordial relationship that these countries enjoy with China.

There is no doubt that America needs a new strategy to offset China’s enduring advantages.  On critical metrics, China has already outmatched the United States.  Economically, it boasts twice the manufacturing capacity.  Technologically, it dominates everything from electric vehicles to fourth-generation nuclear reactors and now produces more active patents and top-cited scientific publications annually.

American strategists must confront the risk that the United States could find itself in the position of the United Kingdom a century ago if it does not support its friends as it ought.  The British experience offers both lessons and warnings: its effort at imperial integration was too little too late.  But the United States today can succeed where Britain failed, by harnessing allied and partner scales in new ways.

Even if China’s growth slows and its system falters, it will remain formidable strategically.  This is an era in which strategic advantage will accrue to those who can operate at scale.  China possesses scale and countries like The Bahamas, operating in the global competition between the superpowers must choose what is in the best interest of Bahamians.  For now, we are headed in the right direction.