The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Communication and Public Managers Union is calling on the Bahamas Telecommunications Company to reinstate the union’s vice president after she was terminated from her job at the phone company “without cause.”

Around 30 union members showed up to a press conference yesterday, where BCPMU president Talbot Collie called the firing a “blatant attack on unionism.” He called the grounds for firing, “frivolous.”

The union’s vice president, Elizabeth Thompson said she was given a letter by BTC management last Monday that stated she was being terminated from her senior manager, legal and regulatory position – which she had held for more than four years.

In the letter, she said, BTC told her: “After due and careful consideration, the company has decided that the continuance of your employment is not in the best interest of the company or consistent with the requirements of the company’s business.

“We therefore regret to inform you that the company has decided to sever your employment without cause with pay in lieu of notice...”

Ms Thompson drew attention to what she called “an absence of reasoning” for the firing and explained a justification ought to have been stated.

“This company seems to not be interested in the qualified Bahamian. I’m concerned with that,” she remarked.

She also had a copy of the novel Sent From Overseas by Rudy Gurly, which according to the author’s biography tells of one man’s rise to the head of the British company, Cable & Wireless and his subsequent departure.

Ms Thompson was spotted showing the book to members of the crowd.

Union president, Mr Collie called the letter an “affront” to the union and demanded Ms Thompson be reinstated to her former post.

“We just want to send a clear message to all that this blatant attack on unionism, on the integrity of the industrial agreement, is so offensive that we cannot tolerate it,” he said.

“Not only in BTC, but our beloved Bahamaland. The position that the union has taken is this — we call for the immediate reinstatement of Ms Thompson because the grounds that are stipulated in her letter of termination is frivolous. Frivolous, baseless, and we cannot – will not, sit by and hope that this issues goes away.”

The union wants to make it clear to BTC’s management that swift action is wanted with respect to the resolution of the matter, Mr Collie continued, and the union will do “all that is in our power” to remedy this situation and follow it through to the desired conclusion.

“What we find terribly offensive and problematic is that there is an industrial agreement in place and there are specific guidelines as to if a particular breech is committed,” he said. “For management to unilaterally decide you are no longer needed here and not reference a particular breech is what we find problematic.”

However, although Ms Thompson was told the firing was “without cause,” in a subsequent statement issued to the press last night by BTC, the company said they wished to “clarify details” surrounding her termination.

“Ms Thompson’s duties required that she hold in the strictest confidence all information received from or concerning the Company, protect the interests of the Company and not place herself in a position where there was likely to be a conflict of interest,” the company said.

“It became increasingly clear to BTC, from as far back as 2010, that Ms Thompson was either unwilling or unprepared to meet the expectations of the Company, which led to doubts about her ability to properly discharge her functions and contributed to a combative working environment.”

BTC claims they brought the “expectations” to Ms Thompson’s attention on “more than one occasion,” but she reportedly refused to acknowledge them.

“Increasingly, the Company became concerned with a pattern of behaviour exhibited by Ms Thompson by which she placed herself in an adversarial position to the company’s interests,” BTC continued.

BTC named her participation in the BCPMU’s Negotiating Committee to negotiate a new industrial agreement between the Union and BTC as an example.

“This position was clearly adverse to the Company’s interest and when the Company objected to her participation on the basis of a conflict of interest, she refused to accept the position of the Company. This is but one example and is indicative of the fundamental difference between Ms Thompson and BTC.”

BTC said their executives “continued to meet” with Ms Thompson over a period of time to try and arrive at an amicable solution.

“After it became increasingly apparent that the confidence and trust essential to her employment was being destroyed by her conduct and attitude the company determined that the continuance of Ms Thompson’s employment was untenable.”

Ms Thompson had held her senior manager position at BTC for four years and six months.

With the firing of Ms Thompson and the conflict between the union and BTC, concerns have been raised over subsequent industrial action as a result of the firing and potential service disruptions.