The Tribune

LABOUR Minister Shane Gibson said yesterday that the government has come to “an agreement on several issues” with the Trade Union Congress after days of negotiations following strike action by the union. However, the minister would not say what these agreements were.

The government began meetings with the TUC over the weekend after it staged a three-day strike last week.

Long-standing labour issues in several of the more than 20 unions represented by the TUC came to a head when the strike began last Wednesday. Public healthcare facilities experienced substantial problems from the strike because nurses in some cases abruptly stopped caring for patients. It was reported that government health care facilities were forced to turn some people away on Friday.

According to a well-placed source, those nurses who walked off the job will face “substantial” pay cuts.

The Supreme Court issued an injunction on behalf of the government on Wednesday ordering members of the Bahamas Nurses Union, the Bahamas Customs and Immigration Allied Workers Union and the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union to abandon their national strike and return to work “forthwith” or risk being in contempt of court.

TUC President Obie Ferguson last week vowed to petition the court to have the injunction lifted, however it is unclear if this will happen.