The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader yesterday voiced frustration over the alleged six-year wait to secure an industrial agreement with the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

Cory Cartwright, the Grand Bahama Port Authority Workers Union's president, asserted that promises of a formalised agreement by March 31 this year had failed to materialise. He added that the failure to secure an industrial agreement had left the Shipyard's workforce exposed, with management saying they needed to obtain Board of Directors approval for any deal.

Calling for Carnival and Royal Caribbean, which both hold a 40 percent equity stake in the Shipyard, to intervene in the matter, Mr Cartwright said the union will file a complaint with the Labour Board if there is no progress towards an agreement.

"We are asking for the intervention of the Board, and the chief executives of Carnival and Royal Caribbean to step in, because this team seems as if they don't have the ability to translate or disseminate the necessary information regarding what the negotiations are asking for," Mr Cartwright said.

"We're prepared to take it as far as the court system if we need to go because, you know, the next step for us is to file a grievance with the Labour Board. But we are happy to speak with the Board [of directors]. We are happy to go back into negotiations with them. Only if they have somebody who was prepared to actually carry out negotiations, because it doesn't take long to reach a compromising position for both parties.

"But you first have to want to talk about it. We can't get anything done. Like I said, it's been six years. We have never met with the Board; we have only met with the administrative team on the island. We just want intervention, because it seems as if this is a crew that has their own agenda, and we’re not sure if the information that has been given to them thus far was actually reported to the Board.”

Multiple attempts were made yesterday to obtain comment from Grand Bahama Shipyard executives. After Tribune Business was informed that its chief executive, David Skentelbery, was not in office, several messages were left for chief financial officer and human resources head, Linda Turnquest, but no response was received before press time. Richard Paskins, the Shipyard's vice-president of operations, declined to comment and referred this newspaper to Ms Turnquest.

Mr Cartwright, meanwhile, alleged that the Shipyard has recently implemented stringent COVID-19 policies even though The Bahamas and rest of the world have either relaxed or eliminated such requirements.

He added: “The memo was sent out on March 27, where they stated that in order for you to be promoted you have to be vaccinated. And there was no room for the unvaccinated within the company. Since then, they have come back and made an amendment to the memorandum saying that now you'll be required to travel, so you will need to be vaccinated.

"They are implementing these stringent COVID policies when COVID is going out of the window. The world is now realising there's no reason for these stringent policies and guidelines. And they are just continuously increasing the requirements in order for [union] members not to be qualified for an increase or promotion.”