The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN artists and entertainers’ union has joined the Trades Union Congress (CBTUC) after a two-and-a-half-year wait for recognition, with a labour leader asserting yesterday: “You can’t have a country without culture.”

Anita Ellis-Tynes, the United Artists Bahamas Union’s president, said the move was made possible after the union finally achieved “recognition status” under the Industrial Relations Act. Through aligning with the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Trades Union Congress (TUC), the group indicated it will push for Bahamian entertainers to play a greater role in the tourism product.

Obie Ferguson, the CBTUC’s president, pledged that the addition of the United Artists union will place Bahamian entertainers back at the forefront of local culture. He said: “The role of Bahamian artists, Bahamian entertainers will be completely different from what it is today. I want to make that clear. The Minister of Tourism (Chester Cooper) will be told in no uncertain terms culture rests to a great extent with our entertainers.

“The Minister of Tourism will be told in no uncertain terms that the entertainers in The Bahamas will have a say, and no entertainer will be allowed to come to The Bahamas unless you clearly show this distinguished body, the UABU. That will not happen any more. I can assure you that will not happen any more.

“You can’t have a country without a culture. I see no Bahamian entertainers involved and displaying to the tourists who we are. The ships come in. They have entertainment on board, you know. They have limbo dancing and they have fire dancing. But you go there if you can get on board, and then who do you see doing it in The Bahamas?”

Mr Ferguson said cruise ships are supposed to adopt Bahamian laws and policies once they reach five miles inside this nation’s territorial waters, but rarely abide by this. “At 1.5 miles out of The Bahamas, everything comes to an end until you get here,” he added.

Reviving the moribund nightclub scene is a challenge, given that half of central Bay Street is dilapidated and the Over-the-Hill plagued by crime and violence. Mr Ferguson added: “Entertainers are critical in any country. So I am here with my colleagues, and we are going to do some things. We are going to make some people uncomfortable. But sometimes that’s necessary, and this is necessary.”