The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The attorney representing Morton Salt’s 100-plus line union members yesterday said he was optimistic a new industrial agreement would soon be reached with the company, despite “one or two areas of concern”.

Fresh from a week-long negotiating session in Inagua, Obie Ferguson identified the issue of pay for working on a ‘day off’ or public holiday as one that had to be ironed out.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, who is acting on behalf of the Bahamas Industrial, Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU) and its 101 members, told Tribune Business: “It is progressing reasonably well.

“There are one or two areas of concern we have. They [Morton Salt] seem to take the position that if you work on your ‘day off’ you are to be paid ‘time and a half’.

“But we told them the Employment Act provides that if you work on your ‘day off’ or a public holiday, you are to be paid double time, which seemed to be an issue with them” Mr Ferguson said.

“They’ve been paying time and a half for a long time. They said the Ministry [of Labour] indicated to them that was the position. I said: ‘I doubt very seriously that they advised that’.”

Mr Ferguson said the Employment Act stipulated that time-and-a-half was the wage rate for overtime work, but work on a ‘day off’ or public holiday involved pay double the normal salary scale.

He added that the union was seeking a new three-five year industrial agreement, retroactive to March 1, 2013.

This would replace the previous agreement negotiated in 2008, which Mr Ferguson said Morton Salt had honoured despite it not being properly executed.

“I looked at the proposal put forward by the company,” he said. “It’s not unreasonable, but in my humble opinion there are one or two areas we need to touch up on, and I’m confident that in a very short period of time we will have that agreed and executed.

“We’re just attempting to get them to agree to the ‘day off’ and one or two areas dealing with an increase in pay.

“We believe there’s still some flexibility, and I’m satisfied within a short period we will get that agreement completed. Certainly, after having discussions with them, we will get over the hurdle.”

Meanwhile, Mr Ferguson said he spent yesterday in Freeport over initiating discussions with the Grand Lucayan for an industrial agreement on behalf of the Commonwealth Hotel Services Union and its 450 members.

“We had a meeting this morning, and the ground rules for negotiations were established,” he said.

“We resume negotiations on October 31 at 10am.”