The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

TRADE union leaders yesterday denied knowledge of a sick-out that resulted in the closure of most of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) self-owned Out Island retail stores.

The communications carrier, in a statement, said that its Family Island retail operations with the exception of Andros were closed as “a number of colleagues did not report for duty”. BTC said its two flagship stores on New Providence remained open, and predicted that retail operations across The Bahamas will return to normal on Monday.

Garry Sinclair, BTC’s chief executive, said: “Our union partners have not yet contacted me, so I’m frankly unaware of what might have precipitated this action. However, it comes right on the heels of several positive developments regarding the welfare of our colleagues.

“We recently completed the terms of an industrial agreement with the BCPOU at the end of April, an agreement that had been pending for almost two years. Immediately thereafter, we began contract negotiations with the BCPMU. We already provide an impressive compensation and benefits structure, which cannot be rivalled in this country.

“Just two weeks ago, we introduced the most progressive parental policy in the region. Parental leave was increased to eight weeks for fathers and those becoming parents through adoption and surrogacy, and to sixteen weeks for mothers.”

Mr Sinclair added: “While I’m sure service disruptions like these are done with the best of intentions, we also have to ensure that in this rapidly-changing competitive environment, the customer is at the heart of everything we do.

“They now have a viable mobile alternative to BTC, and it’s imperative that they always believe they’re our highest priority. I apologise to our customers, and I thank them for their continued patronage. I intend to reach out to the presidents of both unions to determine what is required for a return to normal operations in the shortest possible time.”

The sick-out indicates that BTC’s industrial relations climate remains far from settled despite the recently-concluded industrial agreement with The Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), which represents the company’s line staff.

Nor is it the first such action this year. A number of BTC retail stores on New Providence and the Family Islands were forced to close in February after many employees called in sick amid complaints over their wages and benefits.

Following the BCPOU deal, union members have held public protests over fears of further BTC redundancies, particularly the alleged shift of call centre activities to Caribbean affiliates owned by its immediate parent, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), and ultimate controlling owner, Liberty Latin America.

BTC has denied that further lay-offs are planned, but Liberty Latin America’s top executive, Balan Nair, has described the Bahamian carrier as its most “inefficient” subsidiary. Union leaders have also expressed concern over employment terms and conditions.

Repeated attempts to reach BCPOU president, Dino Rolle, proved unsuccessful yesterday. However, Bernard Evans, the National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) president, and immediate past BCPOU head, told Tribune Business: “I have heard that some people are not feeling well today, and it has impacted operations like the company has said.

“I think there is an ongoing dispute over contracts with the BCPMU and BCPOU. We understand that the company is pursuing another round of VSEPs (voluntary separations) and I think both unions are saying that the packages offered back in 1999 are the same packages being offered today.

“Given the increases in the cost of living, those packages are not sufficient. The unions believe they deserve the right, as per their industrial agreements, to sit down and negotiate the terms and conditions of the VSEPs. The unions want to negotiate the contract first and to be able to make recommendations for adjustments to the VSEP packages offered by the company. That is what I’m hearing.”

Ricardo Thompson, the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union (BCPMU) president, when asked about the sick-out told Tribune Business: “I don’t know directly. I didn’t know about it until I read Gary’s statement. I do know that as the management union we have some outstanding matters and have filed some trade disputes.

“One issue is the incomplete industrial agreement we have there, and not getting any movement. I’m not going to tie anything to that. Another issue was the introduction of some titles in the company that seem to conflict with our union, which we suspect could be some union-busting tactics, but we are going to address that at the Labour Department level.

“I must say that my understanding generally is that a lot of people are dissatisfied by the kind of treatment they are getting, but we’re looking into all of that.”