The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE two unions representing Central Bank employees have filed a second trade dispute over stalled negotiations with management related to an outstanding industrial agreement and other issues.

This is according to President of the Union of Central Bankers Theressa Thompson, who lamented the dissatisfaction of workers over the lack of progress made in discussions with the financial institution regarding its expired contract.

Ms Thompson claimed that it was because of the “intractable and dictatorial” position of the bank’s management team that the two parties have not been able to make any headway in negotiations and insisted workers are now fed up.

This comes after a number of Central Bank employees reportedly called in sick Wednesday to protest unresolved workplace grievances.

According to Ms Thompson, bank employees are now prepared to take legal action if their long-standing concerns are not addressed.

“The Union of Central Bankers and the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union, respectively the bargaining agent for the non-management and management... collectively the unions have reached an impasse with our negotiations with the Central Bank of The Bahamas,” she told reporters during a press conference yesterday.

“The unions have been in negotiation with the Central Bank for almost a year with little progress. In the union’s opinion, this lack of progress is due solely to the intractable and dictatorial stance adopted by the bank from the inception of negotiations.

“In spite of the union’s numerous efforts to compromise, the bank has maintained its low-borne offers in its attempt to strip hard earned benefits negotiated by and with previous governors. Therefore, the UCB and BCPMU filed a trade dispute against the Central Bank on the 26th of November 2021.”

According to BCPMU’s president, Ricardo Thompson, bank employees are also bargaining for better work benefits and seeking to resolve a breach in contract related to employees’ wellness bonuses.

He said: “Just before and during our negotiations in the early stages, we know COVID sent a lot of folks to work from home.

“During this work from home, many (things changed). One of the main things that was concerning was that the union…is liability coverage and insurance coverage for workers.

“In the workspace, the employers are responsible for creating a conducive and safe healthy environment for employees to work. When working from home, a lot of this falls away, including the National Insurance benefits and that would have (been given) to you if something happens on the job, including industrial accidents.

“Industrial accidents wouldn’t really be considered carelessness at your home because a child left a toy on the floor but you sent me home to work from home and you’re not taking into account any of these things so we’ve got a number of outstanding issues with the Central Bank.”

The union leaders said because the situation has become so serious, there is now a need for immediate government intervention.

“We have asked Keith Bell, Minister of Labour, to intervene in these stalled negotiations. In addition, the president of both unions has canvassed the issues with Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs,” Ms Thompson said yesterday.

“It should be noted that this is the second dispute filed in these negotiations. UCB filed one on the 14th of June 2021. Given the Central Bank’s history of respectful and peaceful negotiations, the unions are hopeful that further action would not be necessary. We hope that the bank reconsiders its offers.

“Central Bank staff are wary of the bank’s chorus of ‘no, no, no’ or ‘that’s not up for negotiations’ and ‘that’s not on the table’ and we are prepared to take all legal action at our disposal to get the outstanding issues resolved.”

Meanwhile, Mr Thompson added: “We really don’t think this needs to escalate, but escalate it will if we have to because that’s who we are. We champion the cause of our members and we know when an injustice is being meted out and that’s exactly what’s happening in this case.”

Last week, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis recommitted his government to addressing outstanding labour issues during a meeting with the country’s unions.

Mr Bell, who was present at last week’s meeting, told reporters: “We had a meeting with the unions this morning and the...Prime Minister addressed the unions directly and indicated that this is a government which has heard their concerns, their issues…there are a number of agreements that have many outstanding issues – pay, issues relating to wage, hours of work, overtime, etc.”