The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE idea of Bahamian workers re-electing a government that has continuously “worked against their interest” would be “beyond stupid”, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson said on Friday.

At the House of Labour building on Wulff Road, Mr Ferguson launched a series of attacks geared toward members of the Christie administration, where he urged eligible, working voters to go out and register, instructing the group to “vote your interest” once elections are called.

“Wake up,” Mr Ferguson clamoured as he spoke directly to members of unions throughout the country. “(If) you are for me, then I for you,” he said as he listed a welter of what he called infractions perpetrated against the country’s working class by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government over the course of its administration.

Mr Ferguson, an attorney, went on to suggest that the PLP’s handling of labour disputes during its time in office has destroyed the institutions of The Bahamas.

“The same people (who) brought this government to power, they are now being denied the seat of justice. That must be a serious indictment. It is not something to take lightly because every one of them that sits in that Parliament, came as a result of the working men and women of this little Bahamas. So at least we ought to expect them (politicians) to follow the law.”

Mr Ferguson was referring to the ongoing labour issues at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, where in recent months roughly 600 workers were let go through procedures described as “union busting tactics” by some in the labour movement.

The TUC president accused the government of turning a blind eye to the blatant abuse of employees to please foreign employers.

“I filed a criminal prosecution,” he said. “The Attorney General sent someone to the court as I was about to present my arguments to the court and they said, ‘I am sorry, we are responsible for instituting criminal proceedings’. And the magistrate said to me, ‘Mr Ferguson I hear you, but the Attorney General is here’. Nothing happened from that day to this day.”

To emphasise the ridiculous nature of present day union issues faced by his office, Mr Ferguson described the parameters of a meeting he had to sit through on Friday.

He explained that he had a meeting with officials from the Customs Department over ongoing disputes over uniform allowances for clerical staff. Mr Ferguson said the dispute had been extant since 2007, insisting that the Christie administration, who while in opposition assured him that, once elected, would rectify the matter.

According to the TUC president, matters of this nature are rampant through the public and private sector. He indicated that, prior to the last election, he received assurances on several fronts that if his members voted for and supported the PLP, the party would work in their best interest once in office. Mr Ferguson said those assurances have now gone unsupported.

“It is frightening. It is frightening. You try to get a strike vote, the Minister (of Labour) intervenes, he stops it. You can’t get a strike vote, you can’t get a trade dispute heard whether you are a union or non-union. You’re stuck,” claimed Mr Ferguson.

Referring to the Sandals dispute again, he said he was only able to get criminal charges against union executives dropped because the Attorney General’s office saw an opportunity to drop charges against the owners and operators of the resort in the interim. The move dropped prosecution of, and charges against, five executives of the Bahamas Hotel, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU), who were accused of obstruction for protesting near the Sandals property on West Bay Street.

Mr Ferguson said at the time that he hoped the Government would “act more as a facilitator going forward”.

The BHMAWU, which falls under the TUC umbrella, has since 2009 been seeking to negotiate an industrial agreement with Sandals Royal Bahamian.

“Had it not been for those two foreigners, nothing would was going to happen,” Mr Ferguson said on Friday. “My God, workers in the Bahamas wake up. Wake up. You can’t help me to destroy you. You can’t make me strong to destroy you. You for me, I for you. Look, you see what happened in the United States? What are we doing as a people, let us wake up man. You are giving the man five-year contracts, fixed term contract I call it, and once he gets elected there is nothing you can do. If we keep this up we are going to be second class citizens in this same little Bahamas,” he said.

Mr Ferguson said the outcome of the Sandals ordeal left an indelible scar, one that he could never forget or move away from. He said the issue is something he would work to correct until his death.

“I want the public to understand that the Sandals matter would never be resolved until it is resolved. I want to be made clear. As long as I got breath in my body and my thinking faculties are in place, I will go wherever I have to go in this country to prove to the government of The Bahamas that they have a duty to correct that matter and if they don’t do it, to the extent that the law provides I, Obie Ferguson will pursue it to a logical conclusion. It is an assault on the Bahamian public for that nonsense to be allowed to continue.”

Mr Ferguson also admitted that matter became the driving force behind a national strike move planned for October, one thwarted by the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

Asked if the TUC would press ahead with the move in the coming months, he said it was not off the table and if the action by the government persisted, “we will see what is best for our workers”

The TUC, which represents 26 unions and has a collective membership of about 15,000 workers, last pursued a national strike in 2014.