The Tribune

By CELESTE NIXON Tribune Staff Reporter cnixon@tribunemedia.net THE Democratic National Alliance said it is concerned about the ongoing airport labour dispute but defends the rights of public servants to protest poor treatment. Despite being warned to stick to their shift system by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, customs and immigration officers at the Lynden Pindling International Airport have for weeks refused to work outside the 9am-5pm work day outlined in the General Orders for public servants. The DNA said it had hoped that by now the stand-off would be resolved, "but instead it appears as if there is and was a serious lack of information exchange between the hierarchy and management of the customs department". According to the government, the process of introducing shifts for customs and immigration officers began in 1996. The DNA said in 2006, there were discussions and possibly an agreement between the Public Service Union, the government and the customs and immigration departments for the implementation of the shift system, but General Orders were never amended to accommodate the change. DNA candidate for Sea Breeze, Alfred Poitier, said it is important to note that even if the General Orders were amended, the new shift system should have only affected new staff unless existing employees collectively agreed to honour it. Mr Poitier said he understands that in employment letters for customs officers hired since 1996, shift work was included as part of the terms of employment. "Unfortunately, as the General Orders did not support shift work, they were subjected to work nine to five, Monday through Friday, and anything outside of that was overtime," he said. "The question then is since these individuals have been given this benefit (overtime) from the inception of their employment, through no fault of their own in some cases for almost six years, is the government now able to revoke this benefit without a bilateral agreement?" He said that according to the International Labour Organisation and local labour laws, employers cannot take a benefit away from an employee unless the change is bilaterally agreed upon. Customs and immigration officers have been disgruntled since last year, when it was announced that the overtime payments would cease, and they would have to work on the shift system according to their employment letters. Mr Poitier also addressed complaints of illness due to poor working conditions at the airport. If true, he said, the complaints point to another "breach of our labour laws and no government should be caught breaking the laws particularly if they have been made aware of it". Mr Poitier said: "If these are the main issues affecting the labour situation with customs and immigration officers, then they have a legitimate right to protest within the confines of the law. However, the government should not have allowed these two matters to escalate to this level, as the law is clear on both issues." The DNA is asking the government and the union to hastily resolve the issue, as immigration and customs officers are vital to the national security of the Bahamas and the government's revenue collection efforts.