As part of Parkinson Memorial School’s annual Business Week celebrations, the Barbados Fair Trading Commission (FTC) recently hosted an interactive, week-long consumer rights workshop aimed at equipping young business students with practical real-world knowledge and exam preparation for their 2027 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) assessments. Centered on the theme “All About Business”, the program prioritized demystifying core consumer protection concepts, outlining official redress pathways for dissatisfied customers, and emphasizing the critical role of consumer rights in building sustainable, successful business ventures.
Brian Parris, head of the business studies department at Parkinson Memorial School, opened the workshop by framing consumer rights as a foundational business principle, rather than an afterthought. He highlighted that consumers are the most critical stakeholders for any business, a reality many enterprises overlook when prioritizing short-term profit over long-term customer relationships. “What we are having today is a consumer rights workshop, and as we know, the customer is our major stakeholder in business,” Parris explained. Drawing a parallel between workplace protections for employees and consumer protections for customers, he noted that just as workers have established channels to address workplace grievances, consumers also have formal avenues to seek resolution when they receive faulty products or substandard services.
Parris went on to clarify the FTC’s core mandate as the national body tasked with safeguarding consumer interests across Barbados. He emphasized that prioritizing consumer rights is not just a legal requirement—it is a strategic advantage for businesses. “You’ll find that businesses can enhance their relationships with customers if they understand the consumer rights that they have to protect and preserve,” he said. Beyond building practical business acumen, Parris shared his hope that the workshop would spark greater enthusiasm among students for business studies, encouraging them to pursue higher standards of academic and professional excellence. “I’m hoping that [today] not only just broadens their eyes to these business concepts but gets them more interested and enthused to take the bar a little higher,” he added.
Dava Leslie Ward, Director of Consumer Protection at the FTC, followed with an actionable presentation outlining the commission’s ongoing work to advocate for Barbadian consumers and resolve a wide spectrum of consumer complaints. She explained that the FTC addresses every consumer concern through tailored, strategic approaches, drawing from recent advocacy work to illustrate the tangible impact of consumer protection regulation. One prominent example she highlighted is the FTC’s successful push for mandatory data usage alerts for mobile phone customers, a policy change that protects consumers from unexpected, excessive overage charges. “How many times have you gone over your data? Did you get a warning before you went over your data? At the commission, that’s one of the things we fought for from a consumer protection perspective and as well from a utility regulation perspective,” Ward said. She closed by reaffirming the FTC’s commitment to standing as a dedicated advocate for all Barbadians seeking fair treatment from businesses and service providers, noting that the commission regularly collaborates directly with providers to resolve disputes and deliver fair outcomes for consumers.