The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Customs Immigration and Allied Workers Union executives yesterday demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Perry Christie to resolve their outstanding financial issues before the Christmas holidays.

BCIAWU Vice-President Sloane Smith said negotiations between the union and government representatives have come to an impasse. Mr Christie, he said, is the only person who can move the industrial agreement forward.

“There are certain aspects in the negotiations that we recognize only one person can solve and that is the Hon. Prime Minister. We have come to the point where we feel like we need to speak to him to bring closure to these outstanding issues. We are still seeking to conclude an industrial agreement and at this point it is imperative that the government understands we have already seen the hand of those negotiating on their behalf. They are telling us they can’t guarantee anything so we feel it is time to speak with the Prime Minister who is the Minister of Finance,” he said.

“We are not asking for anything unreasonable. We have not received anything for years. We know the government has given the public service some funds to at least deal with their challenges and it is the same thing that we are asking for our workers. It is not unreasonable to ask the government to show some good faith and at least give the workers in Customs and Immigration something that is reasonable in light of the practices in the government with salary advances and things they usually do on the norm.”

Obie Ferguson, President of the Trade Union Congress and union negotiator, said the Prime Minister needs to meet with the union before December 15th to ensure they have “what is owed to them” in time for Christmas.

“Most employees who are expecting a benefit from their employers are usually paid out on or before the 15th, sometimes the government may go the to the 18th, but that is the period in which whatever bonus is paid,” he said.

“A meeting with the Prime Minister would be appropriate because he is the minister of finance. We feel that the issues that seem to be outstanding are issues dealing with money and the people sitting at the table aren’t able to make decisions for or on behalf of the government. So I join with them in making a request to the Prime Minister and we ought to meet as early as possible because there are some things we are satisfied can be resolved. I am satisfied that the executives of the union and the supporting negotiators have made the right decision not to bring hard or discomfort to the public, but to call for a meeting with the Prime Minister to see how best we can resolve this issue before the 15th of December.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Prime Minister Christie said he is more than willing to meet with the union, but the union must understand the government’s resources are limited.

“The economy,” he said, “is still very challenged and there is limited growth and this is what we have been trying to communicate to all of the unions. In the case of Customs and Immigration we have been waiting to see what develops out of it because theirs is different in the sense that they had a situation that existed prior to the abolition of overtime where they were able to make significant earnings and those were dramatically impacted. I would entertain any meeting that they request. I will try to have a constructive discussion with them now as to their request for some kind of award before Christmas I have to hear what they have to say on that because that is an unusual request in the middle of negotiations. We will have to see because I guess they have some concerns and I’ll just have to listen to the concerns.”

Mr Sloane said the union is not striking or threatening a strike or asking for a Christmas bonus, but they are simply asking for what they are owed.