The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader yesterday described broken promises by successive governments as “the silent killer” poisoning labour relations, which he said were at an all-time low.

Obie Ferguson, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business that the “disconnect” between the Government and trade unions/workers had resulted in workplace disharmony that had “never been so bad”.

He warned that the seeming lack of respect the Government was showing towards trade unions was being reciprocated by a lack of trust in politicians, producing a potentially disruptive combination.

“It’s very, very bad. It’s extremely bad,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business of labour and government relations. “I don’t think it has ever been so bad in my years of involvement in the labour field.

“The workers are very, very upset. The union leaders are very, very upset. There is no respect for the trade union leaders, and there is a disconnect between the Government, in some instances, and the trade union leaders, officers and workers.”

Mr Ferguson challenged the recent assertion by Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, that just one to two industrial agreements remained outstanding.

He argued that at least seven contracts remained to be finalised, most of which had been in negotiation for at least five years.

“It’s a question of treatment and whether you respect me as an entity,” Mr Ferguson told this newspaper.

“You don’t have to give me everything I ask for; that would be totally unreasonable. But if the parties have a dispute, there are ways for it to be dealt with.

“You don’t have to be name calling, and saying people are trying to undermine and frustrate the Government.”

Mr Ferguson emphasised that union negotiators always tried to represent the workers’ interests “honestly and positively” in any industrial agreement talks, and acknowledged that the other party was doing exactly the same.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re trying to destroy the country,” he added. “But we can’t allow our backs to be put up against the wall and do nothing.”

The TUC president, in his message ahead of tomorrow’s Randol Fawkes Labour Day parade, warned that the Bahamas was “regressing” as a nation, with the middle class facing an ever-tightening economic squeeze.

And he warned that the failure of successive governments, both FNM and PLP, to deliver on their promises to Bahamians was akin to a “silent killer” poisoning the relationship between an administration and those it should be serving.

“This silent killer is contributing to weakened productivity levels,” Mr Ferguson said. “The World Bank and IMF warns us that our low productivity level is a drag on our economy.

“Additionally, the silent killer is eating away at our trust for politicians. Prosperity cannot reign in environments where there is little to no trust. Politicians make promises and routinely do not keep them. The silent killer is the poison from broken promises.

“There are thousands and thousands of sick hearts that are trying to fight through the pain of broken promises, and the companion financial consequences that compounds our personal, corporate, and national problems. The workers in this country, blue collar and white collar, have been made second-class citizens.”

Suggesting that the Bahamas was targeting the wrong priorities, Mr Ferguson used his message to make several strikes against government policy, particularly as it related to Baha Mar, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) reforms, and Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

Referring to Baha Mar’s original developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, the TUC president suggested he was being

“shafted” based on all available information.

And he questioned why the Government, via the taxpayer, paid $900,000 to PowerSecure to produce a Business Plan for the Bahamas Power & Light (BPL), the renamed BEC, rather than make such payment once this document was completed.

“Our priorities are wrong,” Mr Ferguson said. “We can find $12 million to throw a party [Junkanoo Carnival], but our schools are not adequately equipped with computers. Who is going to hire our children who leave school or graduate without computer literacy skills?”

Referring to the $1.6 billion added to the national debt by the Christie administration over the past three years, Mr Ferguson said this has occurred during a period when the Bahamian middle class was “being wiped out”.

Turning to the Government’s 2012 general election promises of ‘Bahamians first’, the union leader added: “The evidence of disrespect and neglect of Bahamians from the halls of Parliament should motivate every Bahamian to stand up and march on June 3, 2016.”

Mr Ferguson balanced his criticism with praise for the Government finally taking action to resolve the financial hardship faced by thousands of CLICO (Bahamas) clients, and the industrial agreements that had been completed.

Yet he urged the Christie administration not to forget the ex-City Markets employees and pension beneficiaries, who have been waiting more than four years to receive their due entitlements.

Also railing against the failure of Sandals Royal Bahamian to negotiate an industrial agreement for its staff, Mr Ferguson also called for an Independence Day protest on Cabbage Beach over the vendor access issue.

Implying that ‘people power’ will be employed to defy a Supreme Court ruling, Mr Ferguson said: “Sovereignty is critical, and the attempt.... to deny Bahamians access to Cabbage Beach will not - and cannot - be allowed. It goes to the very essence of being Bahamian and what is the Bahamas.

“Therefore, come July 10, 2016, we are inviting all Bahamians to converge on Cabbage Beach to demonstrate our independence and willpower to preserve our beaches for Bahamians and tourists alike and no one - no one- will be allowed to interfere or encroach on our rights.”

Turning to his final theme of economic empowerment and ownership, Mr Ferguson said the TUC was seeking a greater role in the management and administration of pension funds in which union members have invested their money.