The Tribune

By CHESTER ROBARDS

Tribune Senior Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

INDUSTRIAL action could be delayed by the country’s unions, as sources revealed that BTC officials and Minister of Labour Shane Gibson held a meeting on Friday over the firing of union executive Elizabeth Thompson.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said top union chiefs could be awaiting the results of that meeting before deciding what action to take.

Last week union leaders threatened to take industrial action if Ms Thompson was not reinstated by the 
weekend.

Union members threatened to withdraw their labour if BTC refused to engage the union in discussions said Jennifer Isaacs Dotson and Obie Ferguson, who are the presidents of the National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas (NCTUB) and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Trade Union Congress (CBTUC).

The warning, they said, comes on behalf of the Joint Labour Movement (JLM) that represents about 40 unions with an estimated 60,000 workers throughout the country.

The Tribune attempted to contact Mr Gibson and Ms Isaacs Dotson, however no calls were returned up to press time.

It is not known if either Ms Isaacs Dotson or Mr Ferguson were at the meeting between the minister and BTC officials.

BTC union members said they had not been contacted regarding any sort of industrial action.

The unions have claimed that Mrs Thompson, who worked at BTC for five years, was fired because she was elected as vice president of the BCPMU.

However, BTC CEO Geoff Houston has denied those claims.