The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Airport Authority signed a recognition agreement with the Public Managers Union this week.

Cassandra Cartwright-Lewis, union president, explained that PMU is now the bargaining agent for middle management at the Airport Authority.

“This is a good day for both the Public Managers Union and the Airport Authority,” she said at a press conference on Tuesday. “On behalf of our executives and members of all entities, the University of The Bahamas, the National Insurance Board (NIB), and now our new members there at the Airport Authority, we look forward to cordial relationships and building the entity moving forward.”

On behalf of the board of directors and the executive management of the AA, Acting General Manager Peter Rutherford called it a “banner” day from them to get to this juncture where they signed the voluntary recognition, which is the first step in establishing a relationship between the two.

“I would like to share the commitment of my team that we look forward to enjoying a cordial relationship,” he said. “Not only for the interest of the employers, but for the trade union movement at large and those who have gone on long before us. I think this signing is a symbol of unity, but I want it to represent also an element of cohesion that we want to exist and not only to see our employees as your members, but as who they are — they are human beings. So we want to make sure that this is a step in the right direction to make sure that all sides communicate and agree with the respect that is deserving of everyone.”

He added: “The Airport Authority was constituted in 2000 or 2001. So really and truly you would’ve had line staff becoming members of a union. Essentially, this would represent the first time in the organisation’s existence that managers would have some forum where they can discuss and adjudicate matters on their own. So 20 years is a long time to go without any kind of representation and I think that is the message that this here actually heralds today.”