I have sat quietly over the past few weeks as the nonsense surrounding the conduct of ferry and bus drivers has unfolded getting more and more ridiculous with each day, each statement, each decision whilst our tourism industry continues to be battered with yet more challenges.I don’t know if anyone else has taken notice but we are reaping what we have sowed. Here’s why over the past 20 years, through weak leadership, we have bred, cultivated and enabled a culture of entitlement, especially within the Civil Service. Too many of the employees feel that they can do and say whatever they want and that they cannot and will not be fired or punished to the full extent allowed or, in most cases, appropriate. We will delve deeper into this after we deal with the Top 20.Holding at #1 is Who’s that Chick? by David Guetta featuring Rihanna. These two artists are clearly both at the top of their respective games and a collaboration such as this is going to produce hits. Improving to #2 is Higher, by Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy.Up to #3 is Moment For Life by Nicki Minaj. This is a really cool song, with catchy lyrics and a hot beat. Advancing to #4 is Rihanna’s current hit, S&M, yet another hit from a hot artist. Falling to #5 is Memories by David Guetta featuring Kid Cudi, popular dance/club anthem that just makes the people dance and sing along.Climbing to #6 is a former essential new tune Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Slipping to #7 is Hold It Against Me by Brittney Spears. Improving to #8 is this week is Look At Me Now by Chris Brown featuring L’il Wayne and Busta Rhymes. Climbing to #9 is ET by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, a former essential selection. Walking, by Mary Mary still DJLT’s favourite track continues its climb up the charts, landing this week at #10. Climbing to #11 is 6 Foot 7 Foot by L’il Wayne featuring Cory Gunz. You have to hear the beat of this really well produced rap anthem.Shifting gears back to more pop music, tumbling to #12 is Firework by Katy Perry. Advancing to #13 is On The Floor by Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull. Falling to #14 is Aston Martin Music by Rick Ross featuring Drake and Chrisette Michelle. Falling to #15 is Grenade by Bruno Mars.Improving to #16 is this week’s essential new dance hit, Judas by Lady Gaga. Up to # 17 is Just Can’t Get Enough by the Black Eyed Peas. Slipping to #18 is Better Than Today by Kylie Minogue. Sliding to #19 this week is What’s My Name? by Rihanna featuring Drake.Now this week’s essential new hit. In at # 20 it’s Till The World Ends by Britney Spears. You must hear this one. Not bad. Very dancey, poppy, clubby.Now back to this week’s topic what went wrong with the workforce? Once upon a time (I like those words; they remind me of books my mommy used to read to me as a child) the majority of the Bermudian workforce was diligent, competent, hard-working, efficient, productive, respectful, educated and successful. That is certainly not the case today! A much lower percentage of us exhibit these good work ethic qualities. What went wrong?You all know that one of my mottos is to ‘keep it real’ so I’m going to tell you the truth, which will offend, but it is still the truth. Y’all ready for this?I lay the blame for our current poor work ethic on years of weak leadership by successive governments. Let me explain.Even during the United Bermuda Party’s reign, the Government just didn’t want to fight with the unions. Every time an employee did something wrong and management tried to discipline or fire them the unions came to the person’s rescue and fought the Government. It is like a game, a circus, you can predict it. The union president will rant and rave to the media, he has to raise his voice and shout loud. It is all theatrics to appease and appeal to the emotion of the membership. One has to remember that his ultimate goal is to continue in his position. This has been done by successive union bosses, in all the unions, at every opportunity.Conversely, the ministers and the Cabinet will meet and decide that they don’t want a public relations nightmare and that they can’t handle the negative press. So what happens next?Well, like I said, the game and the sequence is so predictably ridiculous that it will happen over and over again. What happens next is that the Ministers tell the civil servants to back down and give the employee his job back or reduce the discipline to something lesser. And what does this do?This sends a message to the workforce that you can do whatever you want. You can ‘F bomb’ your boss; you can disrespect and be outright rude to tourists (the tourism industry’s most important people); you can fight with colleagues; you can provide poor customer service to clients; you can call in sick and go do another job; you can not turn up to work for two months; you can just make up the rules as you feel and as you go along; and you will not be fired and discipline will be minimal like a slap on the wrist at most.This also sends a message to staff that the management, the supervisors, are really powerless to discipline you because the system will shut down their desire to manage and discipline you to the full extent that is possible and, in many cases, appropriate. So staff know that no matter what they do they are unlikely to be fired.Now, here’s the really tough, but still true part. On the UBP’s watch, things were bad and they too did not want to fight with the union. But at least we had massive strikes, which suggested that the Government was at least willing to take on the unions when things got really bad.But the union memberships, within the BPSU, the BIU, the TUC, the BUT and the ASP are essentially the PLP’s voters. So really, they are never going to take on the unions, because they need the votes at the next election, they need the public support from the very people they would be firing or strongly disciplining. So yes, it is a joke. My disclaimer, for my critics, is that I have no political science degree but this seems to me like common sense which we all know, is not too common.I am a member of a union and I believe that unions have a purpose. But some days I feel like they have outlived their quantity of usefulness. Back in the day, when management ill-treated staff, we needed strong unions. Today, we still need strong unions for cases where management behaves or acts inappropriately but the unions disappoint me when they back employees who do stupid stuff for which they deserve to be fired. But I guess you can’t blame the unions; they’re just doing their jobs for the dues-paying members that elected the leaders into office.So my message to senior management is that they should, just once, call the union’s bluff. If you stand firm they may just back down. Even if there is a strike we can plan contingencies. There are a lot of people looking for work these days and if you think they will not cross picket lines you’re crazy. People have to eat.Right now the chaos is so bad that the animals are running the farm. The situation is ridiculously out of control. There is no discipline, no fear of punishment. This scenario is seen throughout our society: in schools, homes, in society, in public places and in the workplace.The onus is on parents, teachers, senior management in the private and public sectors, union leaders and all of us right-thinking people to stand on principles, be firm, be strong, take a stand, be willing to deal with a strike for the right reason, to make the point to the unions and their memberships, that poor work ethic, poor attitudes and disrespecting authority will not be tolerated. Peace..…. DJLT.