The Tribune

The Trades Union Congress’s (TUC) president yesterday said it was “highly unlikely” that the controversial labour law reforms will be enacted before the upcoming general election, with little progress in negotiations at the National Tripartite Council.

Obie Ferguson told Tribune Business that ‘stalemate’ was the likeliest outcome given that Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, wanted the Council’s three members - employers, trade unions and government representatives - to reach a consensus on the proposed amendments before he submitted anything to Cabinet.

Describing the employers as “intransigent”, and holding their position against reforms they believe could cripple Bahamian businesses and the economy, Mr Ferguson argued that the Government was ‘conflicted’ because it was an employer itself.

“There’s very little progress being made with respect to the proposed amendments to the Industrial Relations Act and the Employment Act,” Mr Ferguson told this newspaper, following the Tripartite Council’s second meeting last Friday.

“Nothing is really happening of any note, and therefore it’s unlikely we’ll see any amendments made to the two Acts before the election. I doubt that very seriously.

“The Minister’s position is that he would wish the parties to make the recommendations to him, and if we don’t do it, nothing will happen.”

Reaching a quick consensus, or compromise, over the proposed reforms is a remote prospect given how far apart Bahamian employers and the labour movement are.

Prominent among trade union desires is the removal of the Employment Act’s existing ‘12-year cap’ on statutory severance/redundancy pay, and the introduction of a mandatory 60-day notice period that employers must give the Government and relevant bargaining agents - unions - when they intend to make 10 or more employees redundant.

Employers have warned that the proposed amendments threaten to increase private sector costs to the point where they will “stop people wanting to be in business”, and drive away potential foreign direct investment (FDI).

The Government’s wish to achieve a unified position at the National Tripartite Council likely makes the prospect of any imminent reforms being enacted an impossibility, despite previously suggesting it wanted to bring the amendments to the House of Assembly by early October.

“The Government promised to give us some draft by September 30, but nothing has happened,” Mr Ferguson lamented. “I don’t see anything happening before the next general election.

“I would like for it to happen, but I doubt it very seriously. If the requirement of the Government drafting a Bill is based on a recommendation from the Tripartite Council, it’s not going to happen.

“The trade unions made recommendations, but unless there’s an agreement made between the parties to recommend to the Minister of Labour to recommend to the Government of the Bahamas, nothing will happen.”

Mr Ferguson said there needed to be “a serious compromise”, and again hinted at disillusionment with the National Tripartite Council as the body to resolve all workplace and labour issues in the Bahamas.

“Until they can find another mechanism or machinery to allow this situation to be dealt with, it’s going to be a problem,” he added.

The TUC president also suggested that the Government had a ‘conflict of interest’, given that it was acting as a regulator and facilitator in labour matters, but was also the Bahamas’ largest employer.

“You must remember that the Government is the largest employer,” he told Tribune Business. “What do you think they’re going to do? They’re not going to impose any restrictions on themselves.”

Tribune Business previously revealed the extent of the trade union movement’s demands, which went much further than what was been revealed publicly, and threaten to price the economy - and businesses - out of the market.

When it comes to redundancy pay, the Employment Act currently mandates that employees receive two weeks’ notice or pay in lieu of notice, plus two weeks pay’ for every year worked up to 24 weeks. This effectively ‘caps’ redundancy pay for line staff at a six-month maximum.

However, the joint recommendations submitted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) propose a massive lifting of this ceiling - to the point where long-serving line staff will receive compensation equal to that of managerial employees.

The unions are seeking a sliding scale, where workers made redundant after six months to five years on the job would receive two weeks’ pay per year worked.

For those who have worked for their employer for between five-10 years, the labour movement wants redundancy payments to increase to two-and-a-half weeks per year, with staff who have served for between 10 to 15 years gaining three weeks’ pay per year.

Finally, for long-serving employees who have worked for 20 years or more, the unions want redundancy pay to be four weeks’ per year.

This, if the Government were minded to enact it, would result in long-serving line staff receiving redundancy pay equivalent to the compensation received by managerial workers, which the unions want to keep at a month’s salary per year worked.

The trade unions are also seeking a 20-fold increase in fines paid by businesses who run afoul of the Industrial Relations Act, with penalties rising from $5,000 to $100,000. They are also recommending that prison terms be increased from one to three years.