The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A leading private sector executive yesterday branded strike threats by Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) line workers as “totally unacceptable”, with the country “unable to afford” such action as it heads into the key Christmas sales season.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business that taking industrial action now threatened to disrupt a season when many retailers generated “the bulk” of their annual sales.

The union representing BEC line staff yesterday said it was adopting a ‘work-to-rule’ position over the alleged refusal by executive chairman, Leslie Miller, to sign-off on a purported industrial agreement that it reached with Deputy Prime Minister, Philip Davis, and labour minister, Shane Gibson.

Mr Miller, though, is disputing the union’s claim that the Ministers signed off on any new industrial agreement, holding fast to his position that he will not support anything that is not in the Bahamian people’s best interests.

Mr Sumner told Tribune Business that employee grievances were always better dealt with in the Boardroom and via negotiations with the employer, not industrial action.

The BCCEC said the latter option only served to make outstanding problems worse, while conciliatory negotiations usually allowed cooler heads to prevail and a compromise suiting both parties to be reached.

“We’d be very concerned about it,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business of BEC’s current labour relations. “We think that any issue that remains outstanding between BEC management and its staff has got to be dealt with in the Boardroom.

“We’ve learned before that certain declarations and industrial actions are not to the benefit of anyone, as they only exacerbate the situation.”

The BEC union’s ‘work-to-rule’ pledge means its members will not work overtime. While some may see this as the union ‘cutting off its nose to spite its face’, given how lucrative overtime pay is for its members, this threatens further power supply disruption for long-suffering consumers.

Eastern New Providence residents had to endure an entire night without power on Monday night, as problems with BEC’s generation turbines at its Clifton Pier power station interrupted supplies.

If the union makes good on its ‘no overtime’ pledge, it will only exacerbate such situations and may mean they take longer to be fixed.

Mr Sumner yesterday warned all this was occurring at the worst possible time for many Bahamian businesses, especially those that rely heavily on the Christmas season to generate the bulk of their sales.

“Coming at this time of year, especially at this time of year, the country can’t afford industrial action from any utility, especially BEC, because everyone relies on its power generation,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business.

“We don’t want to see this impact on businesses. This time of year is when the merchants generate the bulk of their sales for the year.”

Mr Sumner added: “If you start industrial action now, and there’s disruption of power supply, not only will it disrupt businesses, but be very harmful to consumers. It may damage their appliances, and it takes a long time, if ever, to get compensation for that.

“I think at this stage, holding industrial action and putting the entire population at bay, because of outstanding grievances with the employer, is certainly unacceptable for the general population.”

Mr Sumner said Bahamian businesses and consumers were already having to deal with “exorbitant” power costs and intermittent supply, and BEC’s labour relations threatened to make this worse.

The union’s assertion that Cabinet ministers have agreed a new industrial contract is surprising, given that it is not common practice to ‘bind the hands’ of a company’s potential new owners.

If true, this is what the winning bidders in the BEC restructuring process would face, and it seems unlikely that the Government and its advisers would potentially compromise their search for new managers/owners.

Negotiating a new industrial agreement should be left to the bidders, who will be taking over a BEC that is effectively bankrupt and unable to invest in upgrading its infrastructure and power plants.

The Corporation is labouring under $350-$450 million worth of debts; has a $128 million liability owed to Shell Western that is supposedly preventing Bahamians from enjoying the benefits of higher fuel prices; and is racking up annual losses between $20-$30 million despite being a monopoly supplier.

Given all this, and the fact they are among the best-paid unionists in the Bahamas, it would be somewhat galling - though not surprising - for the line staff union to be pushing for major increases.

The BCCEC, meanwhile, denied claims by the union president that it supports any industrial action.

“The BCCEC is the representative for businesses in the Bahamas. As such, the BCCEC does not support any actions that could lead to a slow down in economic activity, particularly as we approach a very active period of sales volumes and profits that are relied upon by businesses to offset earlier periods of slower economic activity,” it said in a statement.

“Given the fragility of our economy currently, the BCCEC encourages all parties to work together, including government, employers and workers, to resolve matters in a manner that does not weaken the economy and is based on realistic expectations on the part of all parties.”