Talks begin today to end BEC union dispute

As of Monday, November 18, 2013

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union will start conciliation talks today at the Ministry of Labour as a result of a trade dispute filed by the union more than two weeks ago.

President of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union Stephano Greene said the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 3pm, concerns the BEC executives attempting to “take away” NIB benefits.

Mr Greene said BEC staff will not engage in any industrial action in view of the scheduled meeting and a promise from Prime Minister Perry Christie that he will “fix their issues”.

“We are confident that we will win in the end. When we went into the meeting with the Prime Minister, the Department of Labour was represented and they

basically told us that according to the contract, we aren’t doing anything illegal and the corporation cannot take away that benefit from us,” he said.

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“I feel confident, even though the process is just beginning, that there will be a ruling in our favour. They will tell us Mr Miller is wrong and he will have to cease and desist immediately.”

Last week, union leaders at BEC “put threats on hold” to withdraw their labour after being assured by Prime Minster Perry Christie on Friday that he will “do what is right”. Mr Greene said Mr Christie assured them that he would review all of the information and clear up their issues with BEC Chairman Leslie Miller as soon as possible.

However, when contacted Mr Miller said he will not back down and the changes he is making are non-negotiable.

He also said he is unsure if the corporation will be paying Christmas bonuses. “Why should we pay $1.6 million and the company is losing money, it’s like rewarding them for bad behaviour,” he said.

The sabre-rattling by the BEWU comes after Mr Miller issued a corporation-wide memo telling staff they will no longer be allowed to collect from National Insurance for certain benefits, such as sick benefit, while being paid by BEC.

He said beginning November 1, BEC employees will no longer be allowed to “double dip” by collecting both NIB and their full salary.

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ThisIsOurs 10 years, 11 months ago

What a mess this is. They meet with the PM who tells them he will fix the issue (from the Vatican perhaps?), and now they go to the Minister of Labour...exactly what can he say???

John 10 years, 11 months ago

What ever is done do not allow BEC union to walk away jumping up and down and throwing their fists in the air in triumph. This saga has gone on too long where BEC union has held this country hostage. Their greediness has stagnated this country's growth and development. Their "all for me" attitude is a selfish one that has hurt many Bahamian, both as business people and homeowners. NOW with the serious dip in fuel prices and more expected in the interim, BEC should soon be able to drop their rates to 12 cents a kilowatt-hour and still realize a profit. As you know, Exxon and the Chaney gang was trying to hold fuel rates artificially high because they are sitting on stockpiles of fossil fuels they had hoped to hoard as fuel became scarce and in short supply. They and others also tried to stagnate the use and development of solar power and other alternate sources of power for the same reason. That is why the price of solar power equipment remains outrageously high, because once a business or homeowner purchases the equipment he has endless use of solar energy and there is no way at the present to tax it or n reason to since it is readily available, you don't have to mine it, refine it, modify it or do anything to it, AND guess what, the only by product or waste produced by solar energy is a cooler climate! Here in the Bahamas virtually every home appliance, including air conditioners and water heaters can run of solar energy and if BEC was to utilize the technology, if only for allowing homeowners and businesses to install these systems on their buildings and send the excess power back to BEC and for BEC to solarize all the street lights, electricity bills can be slashed by at least FOURTY PERCENT!

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JohnDoe 10 years, 11 months ago

It seem as if we all continue to miss the point here. As distasteful as the actions of the union have been, the actions of our politicians and political institutions have been even more distasteful. Not only did they enabled and bred the setting and environment that allowed these unions to become so emboldened, they also literally signed these contracts giving the union these benefits. When the PLP was in opposition I remember going to the Bahamas Customs building and watching PLP MPs in the yard advising Custom Officers to strike and work to rule to make the then government look bad while it took me and other Bahamians over a week to be able to pay Customs and have our imported goods released. I have no doubt the FNM behaved the same way. This benefits issue is but a symptom of our larger socio-political issue where our political leaders view themselves as our privileged and entitled Patriarchs who conduct our affairs in a black-box fully non-transparent manner and act in a totally self-serving manner, behaving as if we, the Bahamian people, do not have a right to question them. We may change these BEC benefits but, trust me, tomorrow they would be right back at it working in their black-box giving someone or some other group benefits that serve their personal or political interest and not the interest of the Bahamian people.