The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC)employees yesterday staged a sick-out in protest at plans to cut up to 150 jobs, with the union representing its line-staff indicating it has applied for a strike vote.

Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) president, Bernard Evans, denied that the union had initiated a strike yesterday, but acknowledged that a number of employees had not reported for work.

Mr Evans said the union has filed an application for a strike vote against BTC. The Mall at Marathon store was forced to close on Thursday after workers reportedly did not show up for work, with reports of a similar occurrence at a BTC store in Grand Bahama.

 “We did not authorise a strike but the members are angry. We did, however, apply for a strike vote and we are looking to get a date within the next two weeks,” Mr Evans said.

    BTC staff were informed of its plans to cut jobs this week, according to the BCPOU chief, who labelled the move as “sneaky” and accused the company of not acting in good faith.

The voluntary separation packages have been offered to all staff, with the deadline for acceptance set for March 6, according to the BCPOU.

   “The members are upset. We had a meeting with them and they did not like the way the situation was being handled,” Mr Evans said.

“We told our members the facts as it was presented to us in regard to the packages that are being offered, and they thought it was totally disrespectful. They expressed their concerns, they had lunch and then they left. I don’t know what is happening.”

BTC has gone through several downsizing exercises since its 2011 privatisation and purchase by Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC).

Its first Voluntary Separation Package saw some 350 staff leave the carrier, and BTC/CWC have reintroduced this in a bid to avoid moving to compulsory redundancies. The planned headcount reduction would cut staff numbers from the present 779 to between 579 and 629.

Mr Evans previously acknowledged there had been talk of BTC looking to cut some 200 staff pre-Christmas, which was halted by the Government’s intervention.

However, Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, said this week that there was nothing the Christie administration could do about BTC’s latest plans.