The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Electrical Utility Managerial Union has filed a trade dispute against the government over an unratified industrial agreement, with the union’s president yesterday warning that “time is running out” for officials to sign off on the contract.

Clinton Minnis said the union is “tired” of the “game” being played by the government and officials at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) over the ratification of its long-since expired industrial agreement. He said the contract, which expired in 2013, has not been signed by officials despite negotiations starting in September 2014.

Mr Minnis also expressed disappointment in the union not being included in the formulation of a new business plan for BEC by the corporation’s new management company, PowerSecure.

Suggesting that the reform process at BEC is “moving quite slow”, Mr Minnis said excluding the union “spells trouble” for the corporation.

He also suggested that it is unlikely that PowerSecure officials would be able to formulate a business plan in the timeframe given by the government.

Mr Minnis made his statements at a press conference at the House of Labour on Wulff Road yesterday morning.

Regarding the trade dispute, Mr Minnis claimed that last October, a month after negotiations started towards ratifying the contract, the government’s labour consultant Frank Carter approached the union. He said that the government wanted to sign the contract “as is,” regardless of any clauses that were not ratified at the time.

However, he said at some point, the government again approached the union seeking to make changes to certain clauses in the agreement. One such clause, Mr Minnis said, was the union’s pension clause, which he said could negatively impact “retirees and employees who may seek voluntary retirement and separation from the corporation.”

Another issue of contention is a lump sum payment to retired persons of the bargaining unit, for the term 2013 to 2018.

Mr Minnis charged that if BEC was seeking to make those changes, they must first “secure those persons and the benefits that come along.”

He said the union filed the trade dispute on Monday.

“We already ratified this with our membership,” he continued. “And so we have a problem with the game that is being played. And so we think now we’ve been patient, we’ve allowed the line staff’s union’s contract to get out of the way, has been registered, we want our things now. We serious now.”

He added: “They (BEC) were advised that it’s a problem, but we have a game that is being played, because on one hand the government is telling us that they’re going to instruct BEC to close the contract, and BEC is saying they aren’t getting any further instructions from the government. We tired of this foolishness. Somebody needs to get real, and needs to be honest.”

Mr Minnis also expressed disappointment that the BEUMU had not been included in the formulation of a business plan by the corporation’s new management company PowerSecure.

Last month, the government signed a transition services agreement with PowerSecure for management of the electricity corporation. At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the next step would be for PowerSecure to finalise its business plan over the next 60 days, which will provide “specific recommendations” on how the American company “plans to manage the new BEC for the next five years.”

However, Mr Minnis said the union is concerned that the process “is not adding up to what it should be, and in a timely manner, in which it has been proposed.”

He added: “The deputy prime minister indicated that both unions will be a part of a sub-committee which will be consulted as the business plan is being prepared. We have not been consulted, we are not intending to go to them and make any proposal to them on what we think. They’re being paid to do a job and consult with us, and then we will put our position forward.

“That is the right way to do business. We’re not going to shoot ourselves in the foot.

“We need to make sure this process is moving forward in good faith. We already have a bribery scandal over BEC in the past and we don’t want any scandal over BEC again. We want everything to be above board and properly.”

“The union will not stand for that, and we’re going to stand firm. But most of all we want our contract signed and we are calling on authorities to respond quickly, because time is running out,” Mr Minnis said.