The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader last night toned down threats of industrial action to rival the 1958 General Strike, following a nearly three-hour meeting with the Prime Minister over the Sandals situation.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business he believes the platform to resolve union grievances over the termination of Sandals Royal Bahamian’s 600 staff and related issues was in place following the meeting with Mr Christie.

Speaking outside the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Ferguson was short on specifics regarding the TUC’s next move, but said: “We discussed the issues.

“The Prime Minister made some suggestions, one of which we will meet on with the Attorney General’s Office tomorrow [today] at 4.30pm. We will put some initiatives together in the interest of trying to dispose of it.”

He added: “The specifics will be disclosed tomorrow afternoon [today] around 4.30pm. We are charged with  the responsibility of preparing some documents to reflect the understanding that was reached today, bearing in mind that the focus of our efforts is to ensure that the Sandals workers return to work. The Prime Minister appeared to be prepared to have discussions along those lines.”

    The TUC and the National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) on Wednesday warned that they were prepared to “shut the country down” with a repeat of the 1958 General Strike, unless the Prime Minister met with them in the next 48 hours to resolve the Sandals situation. This he has now done.

Mr Ferguson also appeared to tone down the supposed strike threat last night. “In all fairness to the process we would want to ensure that every initiative is considered objectively and fairly before we decide to do any action,” he said.

“You act when you have to, not because you have the power to do so, and you do it in the interest of Bahamian workers. As long as we can get the maximum result out of this for the workers, I think we would be doing the workers a great service.”    

Mr Ferguson added of the meeting: “The attendance was very good on both sides. The participation, I think, was very rich coming from the various persons who spoke on both the Government side and our side. I think the foundation is there for us to reach some kind of understanding.”

The TUC and its Bahamas Hotel, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU) affiliate previously blasted Sandals Royal Bahamian for its abrupt closure earlier this month, arguing that it was a ‘union busting’ move.

The resort chain, though, has repeatedy argued that the closure, which resulted in 600 employees being made redundant, was essential for much-needed $4 million repairs to take place at the Cable Beach property.

The BHMAWU has since 2009 been seeking to negotiate an industrial agreement for workers at Sandals Royal Bahamian, and has grown increasingly frustrated at its failure to do so, despite having been recognised as the bargaining agent.

However, Tribune Business’s review of its files shows that Sandals Royal Bahamian and its attorneys, Lennox Paton, have been challenging the “very basis” for the Bahamas Hotel, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union’s (BHMAWU) existence on technical grounds.

The resort previously filed a Judicial Review seeking a court order that would force the Registrar of Trade Union’s to cancel the union’s registration.

Sandals Royal Bahamian’s case was that the BHMAWU has breached the Industrial Relations Act on two counts - failing to hold nominations for its executive positions, and the non-publication of its annual returns.

And it is alleging that the Registrar of Trade Unions (the director of labour), despite discovering these irregularities and giving the BHMAWU two months to correct the problems, had failed to take action over the union’s continued non-compliance.

The other thrust of Sandals Royal Bahamian’s action was that the union’s executives were not elected in accordance with the BHMAWU’s constitution, and it has therefore been seeking a Supreme Court declaration that they have no authority to act on its behalf.

The Judicial Review action thus might explain why Sandals Royal Bahamian is still refusing to negotiate an industrial agreement with the trade union, and why the latter’s frustration has boiled over into road blockages and the filing of criminal complaints against the resort’s executives.