The Tribune

BY NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A VETERAN trade unionist yesterday called for Obie Ferguson KC to step down from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) presidency following a near two-year legal battle that has left the Bahamas General Workers Union (BGWU) in turmoil.

Dave Beckford, who is now acting General Workers Union president until fresh elections are held, told Tribune Business that Mr Ferguson needed to resign from his post at the helm of arguably The Bahamas’ largest union due to the “clear conflict of interest” over his role in the BGWU dispute.

Rather than act as the General Workers Union’s impartial legal adviser, Mr Beckford alleged the TUC president had instead picked sides in the dispute that tore apart the union’s executive council and represented its late president and general secretary against himself and other union officers in their 18-month courtroom battle.

He argued that Mr Ferguson, instead of acting for the late Linda Sands and Natania Johnson, should - as the union’s external legal adviser - have remained above the fray and sought to help resolve both sides’ differences. Mr Beckford, on behalf of the executive council, in an August 5, 2026, letter to Mr Ferguson said the General Workers Union is withdrawing from membership of the TUC amid the fall-out from a dispute that has “detsabilised and embarrassed” the union.

Mr Ferguson, in response to Mr Beckford’s resignation demand, laughed and told Tribune Business the latter has no standing to make such a call because he has allegedly failed to pay his union dues and is thus a “non-financial member” of the BGWU. The TUC chief also branded Mr Beckford as “insignificant”, and rejected both his “conflict of interest” claims and assertions that he had unduly “interfered” in the General Workers Union’s internal affairs (see other article on Page 3B).

The backlash comes after acting Supreme Court justice Raynard Rigby KC, in a July 29, 2026, verdict, inflicted a total defeat on Mr Ferguson and his clients by finding for Mr Beckford and his executive council faction, who included Brian Smith, the treasurer; Phillippa Dixon, assistant secretary general; and trustees Ivy Minnis and Richard Johnson. He ruled that the General Workers Union’s constitution did not empower Ms Sands, as president, to dismiss them as she did in December 2024.

Now, in the ruling’s aftermath, Mr Beckford said he and the remaining executive council members have been left to pick up the pieces and put the General Workers Union back together ahead of elections for new officers which are likely to occur during the first half of September 2026. Acting justice Rigby had urged them in his ruling to “move quickly” in setting dates for the officer nominations and election following his ruling.

However, Mr Beckford yesterday told this newspaper that the General Workers Union faces multiple obstacles in its bid to refocus on its core reason for being - advocating for, advancing and protecting the welfare and interests of its members and Bahamian workers. These barriers include a present inability to access the union’s bank account, which was frozen by Commonwealth Bank after the executive council split erupted.

Mr Beckford said he and remaining council members are also unsure how many members remain with the General Workers Union, who are in good standing and at which companies. He explained that the union had initially been recognised as the bargaining agent for line staff workers at three entities - the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and Bahamas Waste.

However, due to the leadership split and in-fighting, members quickly became disenchanted with the General Workers Union. A determination poll taken at BTVI in December 2024 resulted in its replacement as the bargaining agent for that institution’s line staff by the Bahamas Union of Auxiliary Professionals in Education (BUAPE).

A similar union representation poll was set to take place at BAIC in March 2025, which would have resulted in the Bahamas Public Sector and Health Professionals Union (BPSHPU) replacing the General Workers Union, but this was halted - at least temporarily - by a Supreme Court injunction that Mr Ferguson obtained on the latter’s behalf. Mr Beckford yesterday said he and the executive council were now trying to determine the current situation, and if the injunction remains in place.

As for Bahamas Waste, the now-acting General Workers Union president said no mechanism had been put in place to collect union dues from members at the company, meaning none are in good standing and, therefore, are unable to participate in the upcoming officer elections.

Amid the effort to discover whether the General Workers Union is still functioning, and has any members, Mr Beckford, in an August 5, 2026, letter told Mr Ferguson that the executive council had “unanimously agreed to withdraw its membership from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) effective immediately”.

He wrote: ”The Council has concluded that the union have lost all trust and confidence in you as leader of the Congress, and we find it very difficult to be a part of any organisation that falls under your leadership.”

Mr Beckford added that the legal battle had “caused damages to the union financially and socially”, resulting in it becoming “destabilised and embarrassed” and requiring “some time for us to get back to a degree of normalcy”.

Speaking to Tribune Business yesterday, Mr Beckford said the General Workers Union’s executive council had “a right” to withdraw from the TUC even though it has elections for new officers coming up. He added that he was now “respectfully” calling for Mr Ferguson to step down from the TUC presidency, arguing that he had exceeded his role as the General Workers Union’s legal adviser by becoming involved in representing one of the parties in an internal dispute.

“What Mr Ferguson did was kind of interfering with the running of the union through the president and general secretary,” Mr Beckford alleged. “In our case, his job was to advise and not pick sides in the circumstances. His job was to advise, not to try and run the union through the president.

“I know Mr Ferguson is a brilliant labour attorney, one of the best in the region. My colleagues are disappointed in the role he played in this case. He was an advisor to the council, but he represented the late president and appointed general secretary. When the president passed away, he argued that Ms Johnson, the general secretary, that she is the acting president when the constitution makes clear the deputy president takes office. He went contrary to that.”

Mr Beckford also challenged Mr Ferguson’s and the TUC’s moves to hold their own Labour Day marches over the past two years, plus seemingly strained relations with the Davis administration. “As leader of one of the biggest umbrella unions, it’s time for Mr Ferguson to step down and let others lead the organisation,” he argued.

The leadership battle has left the General Workers Union with a $100,000 legal bill which, ultimately, its members will have to pay from their dues. Mr Beckford also disclosed that the union’s industrial agreement with BAIC expired in 2023, leaving its members exposed, and - while the agency’s management confirmed a proposal for a new deal was submitted - he and the existing council members know nothing about it because it came from Ms Johnson and the late Ms Sands.

“After the elections, whoever takes charge of the union will have to rebuild the union in terms of members, the finances of the union and getting more membership and moving the union forward in a strategic way,” Mr Beckford told Tribune Business. “The members are disenfranchised. The agreement has expired from 2023.

“The members’ morale is low. They are very confused, don’t know what is going on and saying we’re not benefiting from this. It’s really been a terrible situation that’s negatively impacted the members, especially at BAIC.” Mr Beckford estimated that the General Workers Union may have had 100 members at BAIC but, due to the in-fighting, many were now not in good standing because they had failed to keep up with their union dues.