The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Trade unions joined forces to send a “strong message” to the government and Atlantis about the firing of the resort’s chief shop steward last week.

Belinda Wilson, president of the Bahamas National Alliance of Trade Union Congress (BNATUC), which comprises of six unions and two associations and president of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) said she is standing behind the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) and warned the government will feel the “strength” of the unions if they dismiss their concerns.

She said: “Today, we are here in solidarity with our brother, Darren Woods from the hotel union, and we’re going to send a strong message to the government, that when you touch one, you touch all.

“And it is a sad day in this country, that we have to fight so hard to have rights of our workers. And we’ve fought already. We have laws, we have processes and procedures, we asking them to follow it.

“And it seems as though the government bows to the foreign entities. This is The Bahamas. And we are saying to you, if you can’t hear you will surely feel… the power, the strength of the trade union movement in this Bahamas.”

Dwayne Woods, president of the Bahamas Utilities Service and Allied Workers Union (BUWASU) and President of the National Congress of Trade Union Bahamas (NCTUB), which is comprised of nine unions, described the firing of the union officer as a “sad day” for the labour movement and called for stakeholders to settle the dispute fairly.

He said: “This is a sad day in the labor movement to see that an officer of a union can be terminated. I’ve never seen this in my 35 years of experience in the union business. This is a creature that we will not allow to come in to The Bahamas.

“So I’m calling on the stakeholders of the hotel industry to resolve this problem post haste and even extend the stakeholding as far as the government to see that the honourable thing is done in this matter, because this particular matter transcends beyond all congressional boundaries. And we leave no stone unturned in having this matter resolved post haste.”

Last week, members of the BHCAWU protested in front of the Department of Labour after Ms Adderley was fired, reportedly for inciting and gross insubordination.

Yesterday, Darrin Woods, president of BHCAWU, insisted Atlantis management had no evidence to support their actions and therefore rallied other trade unions stand in support of Ms Adderley and the BHCAWU.

He said: “We’ve called this press conference today for one particular reason and that is to show the country at large that the labour in this country is united and uniting behind the workers in this country because what has happened to Ms Princess Adderley is a sad day in this country.

“Because these are some of the things that our forefathers fought for persons who would stand up for the rights of others. It’s fine for someone to be disciplined, okay. But also with that discipline, there has to come some explanation and proof thereof. Once, Miss Adderley would have been suspended and returned from the suspension. There was an obligation on management to produce the evidence to support what they did. Well they did not and then they move for termination.”

Mr Woods said he has liaised with both local and international trade unions and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) will be corresponding with the government and the International Labour Organization (ILO) about the termination. He added the unions will be agitating for legislative changes to protect employees rights and ensure union access to employees.

He said: “And so we have called on our affiliate headed by Miss Belinda Wilson, and also the other labour union, the NCTUB, which has had been headed by Mr Dwayne Woods. Of course it is an affiliation of mine. And also the TUB, Mr Obie Ferguson said that he was in court, he’s going to be on his way. We have also called on our international affiliates, the IUF, who is going to be sending a communication to the ILO and also the government of The Bahamas, and the Minister of Labour in this regard.

“We believe if we sit down and allow this to happen with the chief shop steward right, trouble is going to come, because in some spheres, we still have officers of the union who are employed. And for us, we believe that the time has come and is long overdue for legislation to protect unions, union officers and the like in this country.”

Mr Woods said the BHCAWU filed a dispute with the Department of Labour last week and requested an appeal from Atlantis on Tuesday.

He said: “A dispute was filed at the Department of Labour on the day of the incident. And we’ve also launched our official request for an appeal, which was done on Tuesday of this week. And we’re waiting on them to get back to us.”