The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader yesterday warned The Bahamas is headed for a general strike unless industrial relations undergo a fundamental reset, saying: "This is the worst I've seen it in 35 years."

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business that "the once-cherished relationship" between employers, trade unions and the Department of Labour had "disappeared" and was leading to growing workplace disharmony.

Slamming what he described as "a complete disregard" for industrial agreements, Mr Ferguson argued that long-standing conventions and norms governing how employer and union behaved once such deals expired were no longer being followed.

Instead of behaving as if the expired agreement's terms and conditions remain in effect until a new deal is negotiated, the TUC chief said both government agencies and the private sector were increasingly refusing "to come to the table" and enter discussions with workers/unions.

Suggesting that this was causing increasing frustration among union members, Mr Ferguson warned that unless pressures eased - and tensions cooled - then The Bahamas could be faced with a collective withdrawal of labour or industrial action in the form of a general strike.

Reiterating that "no union leader wants that", given the damage it would inflict on an already-weakened Bahamian economy post-Dorian, the TUC chief called on all sides to move back from the brink via "a change in attitude" and reversal of the "paradigm shift" in approach to negotiating new, registered industrial agreements.

The Prime Minister, seemingly recognising the increasingly volatile state of Bahamian industrial relations, last week indicated that the government is mulling an increase in the public sector's minimum wage. However, this will only benefit 2,000 members of the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) at a time when several labour issues continue to simmer in both the public and private sectors.

"I think the major problem we are having, speaking for the labour movement, is that there seems to be a shift," Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business. "By that I mean the once-cherished relationship that existed between the Department of Labour, the trade unions and the employer has disappeared. There's no respect between the parties.

"There is a complete disregard for what we all know as the industrial agreement. Whether it is valid or not, it is not recognised by employer or government agencies... Once the agreement expires, the employer now takes the view there's no need to sit down with you and negotiate a new industrial agreement. That was never the case in the evolution of industrial relations in The Bahamas.

"There was no pressure put on the union and the employer, and they both in good faith traditionally honour the expired old agreement until the new one was completed, executed and registered. That does not exist any more in The Bahamas," the TUC leader continued.

"There was never a need to go to the Labour Board or file a trade dispute for the purposes of taking a strike vote or taking a strike. What we now have, in order for the unions to move the negotiations, is they have to file a trade dispute, take a strike vote and, in some cases, go on strike to get the employer to negotiate."

Both the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) and Water & Sewerage Corporation line staff union took strike votes earlier this year in a bid to gain leverage in industrial negotiations, marking what Mr Ferguson described as a major shift from days when the union and company's human resources manager could resolve disputes without needing attorneys.

Calling for all parties to assess their "contribution" to what he described as "this unsettled position in the labour movement", the TUC leader said: "If it continues my prognosis is we can possibly see a collaborative effort by all the unions taking general industrial action."

Asked whether he meant a general strike, Mr Ferguson replied: "In effect, in effect." While the unions knew this was "not the best route to go having regard to the economy", he argued there came a point when both leaders and members could take no more if their questions were not being answered.

Comparing the current industrial environment to an "agitated cat", which eventually lashes out if provoked too far, Mr Ferguson added: "I'm unhappy. As one of the leaders of the labour movement in the country I'm not happy with labour in The Bahamas."

Pointing to the unrest at the National Insurance Board (NIB) over a new industrial agreement, and the wait among the Water & Sewerage Corporation's management union and Customs and Immigration union for deals to be signed-off, Mr Ferguson added: "I understand the concerns of employers but they must take some responsibility for what is happening."

He argued that workers should not be forced to take the Government to court to obtain the necessary holiday pay specified in law, and called on it to "come with open hands" and be transparent if it was unable to pay all that is due to a union's members under an industrial agreement due to its ongoing fiscal difficulties.

Arguing that unions would be understanding in such circumstances, Mr Ferguson said: "No one wants to put The Bahamas in a state where we have a serious situation in our country. No union leader wants that.... But I have never seen it at this point. I have never experienced it like this."

Railing against the disrespect he says is being shown to organised labour, the TUC chief added: "Now the attitude is take it or leave it, and that's not good for good industrial relations. Unless there's a change in attitude and move back from the paradigm shift, I think the future is very dim in terms of not avoiding, in my humble opinion, a general strike.

"This is the worst I've seen it in union-worker-employer relations for about 35 years. I've never seen it like this."