By TANEKA THOMPSON

Tribune News Editor

tmthompson@tribunemedia.net

A MASSIVE shut down of services is expected across New Providence and Grand Bahama today as 20 unions which fall under the umbrella of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will strike, union president Obie Ferguson confirmed last night. 

Mr Ferguson spoke to The Tribune after he held a general meeting with members of the various unions he represents to give instructions. 

Representatives from the organisations which fall under the TUC, which includes unions representing nurses, air traffic controllers and Customs and Immigration officers to name a few, are expected to mobilise at various sites in New Providence and Grand Bahama around 8:30am. 

“The strike is on (today),” Mr Ferguson said. 

He added that the industrial action will last “as long as it takes” to resolve the outstanding disputes with government. He added that his members were fed up and frustrated with the lingering issues that he claims they have not been able to resolve in spite of attempts to reach an accord with the Christie administration and the private sector. 

“We’ve been trying to negotiate with the government and private sector from 2011 and in some cases even beyond that,” Mr Ferguson said. “We were constantly trying to negotiate in good faith and find a formula mutually beneficial to (all) parties but could not do it. We are trying to do what’s best for the workers.”

Recently the government warned the TUC and its respective unions not to engage in strike action, which it said would be illegal because the grievances had been turned over to the Industrial Tribunal. 

Last night, Mr Ferguson dismissed this concern. “We don’t think it’s illegal. The Minister of Labour cannot refer a criminal offence to the Tribunal. As the Minister of Labour, does he have the statutory authority to refer a criminal offence to a civil tribunal for adjudication? The answer is a resounding no. Criminal matters go to a (criminal) court.”

When asked if he feared the strike would have a negative impact on the country and the services the union members provide, Mr Ferguson told The Tribune that union leaders and political figures – like Sir Randol Fawkes, a trade unionist, and Sir Lynden Pindling – had to make tough decisions in the past to ensure positive changes for the working class. 

“What we are doing here is not just for the trade unions, we are doing what is necessary for working people.”

Mr Ferguson said workers who will be striking on Grand Bahama include employees from the the Grand Lucayan hotel, the Bahamas Nurses Union, Bahamas Customs and Immigration Allied Workers Union, the Bahamas Education Managerial Union and the Commonwealth Union of Hotel Service Allied Workers. 

The TUC represents 26 unions and has a collective membership of about 15,000 workers.

Mr Ferguson has been threatening to lead workers on a strike for months. At his last rallying cry on July 18, he warned the government a mass strike was “imminent”, saying: “We’re going to do what we’re going to do on our time, on our schedule, when we think it will have the most affect on the work we are trying to achieve. We invite all workers of this country, all workers, whether you’re in a union or not. We’re asking you to heed our cry when we make the call.”

Mr Ferguson said earlier this year that the TUC has tried repeatedly to make the point to the government that the Industrial Relations Act and the Employment Act as it stands is not progressive and that it creates ambiguity and is a minefield for unnecessary litigation. One of the union’s unresolved issues is the definition of a work week as it relates to vacation days and sick days.

In May Mr Ferguson told The Tribune: “The act defines a work week as seven days; there is no provision for a five-day work week but when an employee takes a vacation they are given five days and not seven. According to the Employment Act the employee should be getting seven days and not five so it creates a problem. If the employee is getting a week’s vacation or taking a sick week they should be paid for seven days as opposed to five, so these are some of the things we are going to talk about.”

Another long-standing concern is a demand for an increase in the minimum wage, from what Mr Ferguson describes as a “totally unacceptable” $30 per day to $350 or $375 a week.