The Tribune

• TUC chief says unions being backed into corner

• Urges firms: ‘Don’t disregard worker interests’

• Concedes economy faces ‘peculiar’ situation

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader yesterday warned that employers could “open up Pandora’s Box” if they back organised labour into a corner by failing to consult on planned changes to employment terms.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business that companies may not like the reaction if they “disrespect the interest of workers” by unilaterally altering industrial agreement terms without prior consultation with the relevant trade union.

Suggesting that employers and unions seek to agree “a common position” on these issues against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Ferguson said his public call for organised labour to avoid strikes and other forms of industrial action at this challenging time did not mean workers’ interests could be ignored.

“If you put a cat up against the wall, and the window and the door are closed, and you harass the cat, that cat is going to come forward,” Mr Ferguson said. “That is the predicament the unions are in. There’s no consultation with the unions.

“When you open a Pandora’s Box all kinds of things could jump out of there. If you’re not aware of what’s in Pandora’s Box, some things could jump out of there and take on a life of their own. It’s not that we plan for it, but there was no consultation with the trade unions. It’s absolutely essential consultation be done, and if that is done it will eliminate a lot of the problems between the employer and union.”

The trade union movement, and Mr Ferguson, have been complaining vigorously since late last year that employers have moved to unilaterally vary employee terms and conditions set by industrial agreements without first consulting the relevant trade union and worker representatives.

While many observers may view these grievances as procedural rather than substantive, and ill-timed given that most companies are focused on merely surviving COVID-19’s economic devastation, both public and private sector entities have been accused of doing this.

The alleged culprits range from the Water & Sewerage Corporation and Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) to private sector players such as Atlantis and Restaurants (Bahamas), the latter being the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise, as Mr Ferguson reiterated that workers and the trade union movement were not insensitive to the current plight of employers.

With the Government’s extension of its COVID-19 emergency powers meaning that some furloughed workers may go up to 15 months, or to end-June, without receiving due termination pay, Mr Ferguson argued: “It would seem to me from an economic standpoint that it would make sense for the employer to meet with worker representatives and come to a common position having regard for the economic and COVID situation we are all enduring.

“You cannot disrespect the interests of the workers and expect it to go unchallenged. As a labour lawyer I don’t understand why the companies are not taking that route, and are not prepared to do that. I’ve asked over and publicly that all the unions exercise restraint in dealing with the issues affecting the worker and the employer.

“You demonstrate you have some maturity and appreciate the peculiar situation the employer is faced with. That does not mean the employer ought to disregard the interests of the workers. That seems to be a problem. I don’t know how to resolve it. I’m getting calls from people every day who’ve been terminated by what seems to be contrary to basic rules,” Mr Ferguson added.

“We understand the economy, and that things are tough, but it doesn’t mean you don’t consult with the workers’ representatives or fail to reach out to them and try and get consensus. Fifteen months without any income will have a serious effect from an economic and social standpoint. You’re talking 15 months without work.”

With the Prime Minister on Monday unveiling plans to extend the COVID-19 emergency orders until May 23, the suspension of the Employment Act provision requiring employers to pay full separation to workers who have been temporarily laid off for 90 days or more will now likely be extended until late June 2021.

This means that workers who have been furloughed since the pandemic started in late March 2020 could potentially go 15 months without being paid a full separation package, instead having to survive on National Insurance Board (NIB) and government unemployment benefit and whatever else they can earn. But COVID-hit businesses may lack the necessary funds to finance a full payout.