The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

TRADE UNION Congress President Obie Ferguson said thousands of workers are still preparing for a massive three-day strike despite National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas President John Pinder telling The Tribune that the strike is “unlikely to happen.”

Mr Ferguson said Mr Pinder “does not speak for him or his members” and the workers are on high alert as they await a decision from union executives as to when a three-day strike will start.

“John Pinder can speak for John Pinder, but he does not speak for the TUC. If he is saying that the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB) will not participate that’s fine, but he cannot speak for 20 something unions,” he said.

“If he is prepared to make a statement for them he can do that, but I am the spokesperson for the TUC. Yes, we are still preparing to shut this country down. Yes, we have been speaking to the government, but we need something concrete and they are not providing us with that right now.

“We are going to show the government we are serious, we have to show our membership that we are serious about them. Some of the things we are asking for can be accomplished without money. But as far as the strike is concerned, yes it is still on.”

Mr Ferguson said union executives are still working on the date for the strike. He said they are waiting for the “conciliation process to be exhausted” before they make their next move.

Last week, Mr Pinder told The Tribune that union leaders have backed away from their threat of a “three- day strike” over unresolved labour issues.

He said the strike is “unlikely to happen” because after several meetings, the government appears to be negotiating in the favour of the unions on most, if not all, of the pending issues.

“I can say that based on the meetings we’ve been having, the government is doing everything it can to address those very important issues that have been outstanding, issues that both the NCTUB and the Trade Union Congress are faced with,” the union leader said.

“There are a lot of promises that have been made and they have hired a mediator in the person of Bishop Neil Ellis. He is there to ensure the matter is addressed in a timely fashion. So we will wait.”

Mr Ferguson’s TUC covers some 20-plus trade unions with a collective membership of 15,000 workers across The Bahamas.

Among the labour-related issues the TUC is seeking to highlight, and have addressed, are the failure of unions to attain recognition from employers, in some cases waiting three to four years; the failure to have industrial agreements dealt with on a timely basis; and government’s failure to make amendments to legislation affecting workers.