The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A trade union leader yesterday pledged that workplace “hot spots” will not erupt into full-blow strikes or industrial action, adding: “We are working around the clock to find a happy medium.”

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business his goal is to avoid “taking to the streets” as much as possible by finding “common ground” between the umbrella union, its affiliates and employers via negotiation.

While unable to speak directly to the Airport Authority strike action, as the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) is not a TUC affiliate, he added that this was unlikely to be a summer of union/labour discontent provided all sides negotiate in good faith and focus on issues rather than personalities.

“There are a number of industrial agreements that are outstanding, and we are working assiduously to ensure the affiliates of the TUC, the unions that fall into that category, that they are working with the Government to get those matters resolved,” Mr Ferguson told this newspaper.

“There may be some hot spots, but in my humble opinion I will try to ensure we keep them focused on issues and not personalities. When negotiations become issues of personality, they tend not to get resolved.”

Besides an industrial agreement for the Bahamas Nurses Union, Mr Ferguson said other outstanding matters involving TUC affiliates include both the Bahamas Doctors Union (BDU), which represents the junior doctors, and the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) that looks after their more senior counterparts.

The Public Managers Union (PMU) has also yet to conclude an industrial deal for the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) middle management staff, while the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU) is also in negotiations trying to resolve concerns arising from the implementation of its registered agreement’s terms.

“What we are trying to do, as opposed to taking to the street, and I’m not saying we wouldn’t do that if it became necessary, but the objective is to find common ground between the parties sitting at the table intelligently, bearing in mind the interests of our members,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business. “But we have a duty to look at the state of the country, and make sure that’s sound so that workers continue to receive a pay cheque.

“It’s a partnership relationship. We have to find ways of dealing with that as opposed to personalities. Most of these impasses are as a result of name calling and personalities, and you never get anything done with that. Everyone tries standing their ground and seeing how strong they are, especially if it gets into the public domain.

“We are working around the clock to ensure where there are issues involving the worker, unions and employers we can find a happy medium. As long as I can hear you and you an hear me, and The Bahamas remains a competitive destination and we consider the worker as part of everything we do, you may not get everything you are looking for but you may get pretty close.”

The BPSU is no longer part of the two union umbrella bodies, the TUC and National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB), which signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the then-opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), but Mr Ferguson said its terms and spirit have not been breached - and still stand - despite the Airport Authority industrial action.

“We have an MoU they are honouring,” the TUC chief said of the Government. “We are meeting with them very shortly, and will go through a whole series of things we intend to embrace. We have a number of things there that we are working on. It may not be as quick as we’d like things to be but there’s a lot of respect between us and them, and that’s going to take us a long way in reaching an agreement.

“The tourist is our business. We have to make sure we give them a safe environment, the best hospitality and better vacation than they experience anywhere in the world. That requires a lot of work and collaboration between employer, worker and union.

“If we are all interested in The Bahamas we will find a formula and come to a decision that’s in the best interests of the employer, the worker and the union. We can do that if we put personal agendas aside and do what’s best for The Bahamas and working people.”