By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister’s meeting with trade union leaders tomorrow is “critical” in determining whether the labour movement will make good on threats to “shut the town down” in response to numerous alleged grievances.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with Monday’s meeting between the unions and Mr Christie, saying the outcome was “not good at all”.

He explained that rather than directly addressing the union movement’s specific grievances, the Prime Minister and other government officials merely engaged in a “general discussion” of the issues, with “nothing definitive” settled.

Indicating that the trade unions were prepared to give the Government one last opportunity to satisfactorily respond to a variety of industrial matters, Mr Ferguson said they were due to meet with Mr Christie and his advisers again tomorrow.

He warned that “Thursday is a very critical day” in terms of determining the trade union movement’s next step, and hinted that some form of co-ordinated industrial action may soon occur with the words: “We’re going to do what we have to do.”

Apart from Sandals’ recent termination of its 600-strong workforce, Mr Ferguson said labour-related issues at the Melia Nassau Beach and Grand Lucayan resorts, Cable Bahamas, and outstanding industrial agreements for Water & Sewerage Corporation middle management and high school principals, were high on the unions’ agenda.

“What we are saying now, the joint labour movement, is that we are insisting these matters be resolved as a matter of urgency,” the TUC president told Tribune Business.

“We are committed to doing what we have to do. If it’s necessary, we’ll shut the town down. We’re prepared to do that. Thursday is a very critical day. We’re going to do what we have to do.”

Mr Ferguson’s hint of widespread industrial unrest, if the TUC, National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) and their affiliates do not get their way, is likely to receive a cold response from both employers and the Government.

With the Bahamian economy, and many businesses, still struggling to recover some eight years later from the 2008-2009 recession, any workplace-related disruption only threatens to create further unwanted financial losses.

Many observers are also likely to ask what more can the trade union movement want, given the Government’s efforts to bend over backwards to appease it, and give into its demands, with the proposed labour law reforms in the wake of the Sandals terminations.

Mr Ferguson, though, told Tribune Business that the trade unions were determined “not to let Sandals get away”, especially given the backing they had received for their stance from the wider Bahamian community.

“We cannot let Sandals get away,” he insisted. “What happened was a violation in our view, not only of the terminated workforce but of the trade unions, the country and all Bahamians.

“Those workers are responsible for this resort being the flagship hotel for Sandals. They’ve won every award possible for tourism in the last 20 years.

“How can you wake up one morning and decide to terminate the entire workforce? We can’t accept it. If it happens with Sandals, it will happen with every union. This is why the labour movement is united. We cannot sit down and idly let it happen.”

Mr Ferguson argued that the normal procedure for dealing with planned worker terminations, as in the case of Sandals, was for the employer to inform, then consult with, both the recognised bargaining agent and the Ministry of Labour.

However, Sandals said it has acted according to the Employment Act in handling the workforce terminations. Given that the expired hotel industry industrial agreement, together with its lay-off provisions, was no longer in effect, the hotel chain said terminations were effectively the only course of action open to it.

Meanwhile, Mr Ferguson said the trade unions’ ‘shut down’ threat was “the only logical, natural consequence” if the Government failed to fully address the movement’s demands.

“He said that he’s going to meet with us on Thursday, at which time he will specifically address these issues,” the TUC president said of Mr Christie.

“The Sandals, Melia and Water & Sewerage matters will be specifically addressed, along with the Grand Lucayan, Cable Bahamas and the education management union representing school principals.”

And Mr Ferguson warned: “If we cannot resolve it, the rest of it is academic. There will be a shut down. The foundation should be there to resolve it, but we can’t regress; we can’t go back.”

Dealing with some of the unions’ specific grievances, Mr Ferguson said their issues with the Melia revolved around the ability of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) to gain access to its members on the property.

The union received a certificate of recognition, acknowledging that it was the bargaining agent for Melia line staff, earlier this month. Nicole Martin, its president, said the union needed to be able to access the resort property to “go in and bargain on behalf of the workers for things that come up on a daily basis”.

Mr Ferguson added: “A union should have access. It’s a constitutional right to have access to your members. The hotel union should be allowed to do that.”

As for the Water & Sewerage Corporation, the TUC president said it was refusing to execute an industrial agreement with its middle management union unless changes were made to the Article 29 clause dealing with outsourcing.

Mr Ferguson said this clause was “not a part of the negotiation”, and had already been agreed, but the Corporation now wanted to change it following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that found it violated the ‘90-day exclusivity’ period granted to Water and Sewerage Management Union (WSMU) members to bid on all outsourcing contracts.

“We are calling on the Prime Minister to execute that agreement forthwith, and not include things that are not relevant to the execution of that agreement,” Mr Ferguson said.