By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TRADE Union Congress (TUC) president Obie Ferguson has pledged the unified support of all TUC-affiliated unions behind the Bahamas General Workers Union (BGWU) as it threatens industrial action over long-standing grievances at the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC).

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Ferguson affirmed that unions across sectors, including healthcare, air traffic control, and transportation, would act in solidarity if the BGWU moves forward with strike action.

“You think I going on strike and she ain’t going, and we in this together,” Mr Ferguson said, referencing BGWU president Linda Sands while announcing the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s (BTCU) return to the TUC.

“Whenever you all decide to make a move in your interest, we in the TUC will be with you. You’re not going to go a day alone. We make a commitment to all of our affiliates. When there’s an issue, it’s for all of us. There’s no one-man arrangement here.”

He added that essential workers, including doctors, nurses, and taxi drivers, would not stand by as one union bears the burden alone. “Let them don’t pay that money,” he warned the government. “They gotta pay the money they owe the people. If they don’t, watch and see what will happen. We will sit down, put a plan together, and we will carry out the plan.”

Mr Ferguson insisted the unions’ demands are not politically motivated, but grounded in protecting the rights and welfare of workers.

Last week, Ms Sands said BAIC employees are ready to strike if the government fails to deliver on promised salary increments and restore health and life insurance coverage. According to Ms Sands, staff have received only partial payment on increments promised since 2022, and have been without insurance since October 2024, leaving many to cover medical expenses out of pocket.

“There will be industrial action,” she said. “These people want their monies. Everybody else is getting money. Why can’t these people at the lower level be okay too?”

Despite two meetings with the Department of Labour, the matter remains unresolved. The BGWU is demanding full payment of all outstanding increments, reinstatement of insurance coverage, and urgent relief for staffing shortages at BAIC.

“If it is not done today, then I do not have to tell you what is going to happen,” Ms Sands warned.

In a passionate close to the press conference, Mr Ferguson dismissed critics of the union movement.

“Oh, well, you know I was not, I was not the smartest boy in mathematics, but I learned some other things - A hint to the wise is sufficient,” he said. “God is a good God, no matter what they try to do, because I am at the end of the road now, just about right, and I’m telling you I don’t even check. You can cuss me as much as you want to. Two things you don’t do to me, you don’t control my health, nor do you control my wealth. So you tell me, why should I listen to you talking foolishness?”