By SANCHESKA DORSETT
Tribune Staff Reporter
sdorsett@tribunemedia.net
NEWLY elected National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB) Vice-President Paul Maynard said yesterday his first priority is “immediately to force” Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Scotiabank to “allow their employees to be unionised”.
Mr Maynard said for far too long the “puppets for the white man” at the banks have victimised, terrorised and laid off their staff without any repercussions. He said the service at both banks is “terrible” and that if no one else will stand up for the rights of Bahamians and Bahamian workers, the union will.
“The staff at Royal Bank and Scotiabank are being mistreated daily,” he told The Tribune. “Both banks have been letting persons go at their whim but the service is getting worse and worse.
“The lines are long and the fees are ridiculous. RBC is charging $10.75 to cash a cheque if you do not have an account with them. For me and you, that may be fine but what about the old woman with $100 who needs to have all her money? That is ridiculous.
“So the first act will be to go after these banks. Every day the staff is coming up to me and saying something needs to be done. These people have a right to be in the union if they want to be. In Canada both of these banks are unionised but here they want to take advantage of the staff and intimidate them.
“We are going to force them to allow their staff to join the union. It is not right what these people are doing. They are laying off Bahamians left and right and taking services out of this country. To hell with them. It is time for a change.”
Earlier this year, RBC closed its Nassau-based Credit Card Centre and transferred its processes to Trinidad & Tobago, terminating nearly 50 people.
RBC also shut down its Paradise Island branch last year, a move according to the bank that was intended to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.
Scotiabank last year unveiled a restructuring in which around 50 employees were expected to lose their jobs, with six branch closures and the downsizing of two others.
Three New Providence locations were “consolidated” into other sites. Caves Village branch was folded into the Cable Beach location; the Wulff Road and East Street site was consolidated at Thompson Boulevard; and the British Colonial Hilton location moved into Rawson Square.
A fourth branch, Cooper’s Town in Abaco, was consolidated into the Marsh Harbour location, while two other Family Island sites - Stella Maris in Long Island and North Eleuthera - closed outright.
Scotiabank’s remaining locations on Long Island and Eleuthera - Buckley’s and Rock Sound - were downsized to ‘service centres’, with reduced services and hours and full-service ATMs.
Comments
The_Oracle 8 years ago
Mind they don't decide to pull out altogether, Leaving you to put your Money in BOB! (where the Govt. can tief it) or Commonwealth Bank, damn, more White man....... It would be funny if it weren't so damn stupid! When the profits disappear, so too will business interests. Your Union will end up a Union of the Unemployed. I agree the service and crowds at the banks is a disgrace, no excusing that, especially the banks mentioned.
sealice 8 years ago
this stupid racist fuck things that he can fix the banks here??? He's had experience running international banks so we should all just shut up and listen to him save the Bahamas one honky at a time???
banker 8 years ago
Par for the course. Royal Bank is already looking to sell its book of business in the Bahamas. Buh bye !!!
sheeprunner12 8 years ago
Unions serve no purpose in our economy anymore ......... just look at what has become of the Teachers' Union and the Hotel union in the past 5 years ......... hotbeds of mismanagement and member's dissatisfaction ........ agency shop is a rip-off and there should be no penalty for a specific sector worker withdrawing from a "preferred union" and joining another of his/her choice ........... Unions have become businesses and plush jobs for so called "executives" ......... Whatever happened to the trench "fighters" with no vested political allegiances?????
Randol Fawkes and the early Laborites fought too hard for this lousy set of union leaders to represent him on Labour Day
realfreethinker 8 years ago
Real traitors of the movement
truetruebahamian 8 years ago
There are many ways to avoid unions and their pernicious tentacles in our businesses. all legal.
ohdrap4 8 years ago
I hate unions, but this is true of RBC. They are predatory, they placed a hold on a check I wrote and started charging overdraft fee. the money was in the account, the check cleared and they placed a one year hold.The so called phone service is awful, the trinidadians just told me to go to the branch to resolve my issue. I went to the branch where my account is , spent 45 minutes on the line, and they told me they would fix it. They did not, when I called they said that I had to go to the branch where the check was deposited as they made a mistake over there. I started cussing them out, if a clerk makes a mistake in another branch, I must be punished? anyhow, the cussout worked and they fixed it.
Scotia's line are not nearly as bad and they truly have 24 hour customer service on the phone. So, as long as you use the online service and teller, you do not waste time.
realfreethinker 8 years ago
The unions should be the last They have been f@#king the bahamians for years What difference does it make if the "white " banker or the "black" union F#@k you> You are still F&%ked. I am so over these sellout union leaders,who only see a paycheck off their members. No difference between them and the pastors, just getting rich.These members better wake up and see if they are getting value for money.
Alex_Charles 8 years ago
I support the idea of unions, however how our Unions have shaped up? Never support that. They are nothing but slush funds for high paying salaries for executives and money to steal and mismanage. But that doesn't even bother me as much as the Taxi Cab Union and their influence on Taxi/Bus plate monopolies. Id' burn that entire system down to the ground and institute proper legislation and regulation. Unions have become just like our government, fat off their asses on our money, ineffective and complete wastes of time. While all unions may not fit that bill, there are several that wear that cap with pride as they collect off your paycheques every month.
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