By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE trade unions representing Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) staff yesterday said they “laid everything out on the table” in meeting with the Prime Minister over their grievances with how the carrier is being managed.

Kenny Knowles, the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union’s (BCPMU) president, told Tribune Business that Philip Davis KC had approached their encounter with “a very open” to the concerns raised regarding the recent terminations of five BTC staff - which have all been upheld on appeal - plus the working conditions employes are allegedly having to endure. Asserting that BTC is making “a lot of errors in the way they do business”, he argued that the carrier is “not delivering for Bahamians” as he accused both its immediate parent, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), and ultimate owner, Liberty Latin America, of failing to meet the promises and pledges made when the carrier was privatized in 2011.

Mr Knowles even questioned whether BTC’s owners “want to be in the country, adding that the “management of key services” has been outsourced and moved outside The Bahamas.

Sherry Benjamin, president of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), which represents BTC’s line staff, meanwhile urged both the Prime Minister and Liberty Latin America to take an “independent look” at the five terminations to see whether they were justified.

BTC has defended its actions, stipulating that they took place after “a thorough investigation”, but Ms Benjamin said: “We got a good response from the Prime Minister. We were able to lay everything out on the table.

“He committed to reaching out to the executive team at BTC and getting back to us. He’s going to reach out to the senior executives at Liberty Latin America, Liberty Caribbean and CWC, and then he’s going to get back to us. He said our meeting today had confirmed some of the things he had heard anyhow.

“I am very pleased that we met, and very pleased with the assurance he gave. We’re looking forward to having some major changes in the way the company does business and the treatment of staff. He didn’t give a timeline for when he would get back to us, but we did let him know our members are at home and some are single family bread winners.”

That is a reference to the five recently-terminated BTC staff, whose dismissals have sparked the latest round of union uproar. Three were dismissed over an alleged credit card fraud involving the purchase of cell phones, but both unions are arguing their members have been treated unjustly, are not responsible and have been held liable for BTCs own system failings that failed to detect the scam.

Ms Benjamin, confirming that the five’s appeals against their terminations have all been heard and dismissed, said: “We are appealing to the Prime Minister, we are appealing to the executives at Liberty Latin America, to have a look at it, have an independent look at it, and not go with what we are saying but to look at it and see if they were justified in terminating those persons.

“That was one of the main issues. We also discussed the treatment of staff and the environment staff have to work in. The fact the buildings they are working in are deteriorating. We provided him with some evidence of the deterioration in the buildings to show doors dropping off, mould in the place.

“We brought it for him not just to hear from us; we brought visual evidence, visual pictures for him to see what we are saying. Because we did not have it labelled we agreed to resend that information to him to see where these things are located. Some of this is in his own constituency, Cat Island, and we wanted him to see the conditions we are working in there.”

Ms Benjamin, pointing out that the Government holds a 49 percent ownership interest in BTC, as well as a minority of seats on its Board, said the unions urged Mr Davis to “see how the Bahamian investment in BTC is being handled”.

She added: “We said to him to speak to them about the investment we as Bahamians have in that business. We are very confident for now with the outcome, and hope to see good things going forward.”

Mr Knowles, meanwhile, said himself and the middle management union are “very satisfied” over the meeting with Mr Davis. He added that the Prime Minister had “a very open ear as to what the concerns were”.

“We felt very satisfied that the Government understood the issues we presented, and he was very pro-union in his stance and he assured the matters put forward to him will be looked at,” the BCPMU president added. “He was responsive, and we feel he’s going to continue to make a difference. We’re very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.”

Mr Knowles asserted that the recent disputed terminating have created a “fear factor among BTC’s staff, and said: “All these matters were presented to the Prime Minister from the perspective that the company is making a lot of errors in the way it’s doing business.

“At the end of the day, CWC and Liberty Latin America have not delivered on the terms of the sale. They have yet to bring the company back to anywhere near the profit it was making prior to the sale. You have to question whether they still want to be in this country because they are not delivering.

“They have moved outside the terms of the sale. They are not delivering on it. While the company may carry the name ‘BTC’, it’s not delivering for Bahamians. It’s not delivering for the country. They’ve moved the management of key services outside of The Bahamas. That’s another situation of grave concern,” Mr Knowles added.

“We feel confident the Prime Minister is involved in this, and we’re going to wait to hear back from him in that regard.” The Prime Minister appears to be on a drive to head-off union unrest, likely with an eye on votes for the upcoming general election.

BTC, in response to the union furore over the terminations, said it was justified in dismissing the five staff members “with cause” following what it described as a “thorough investigation”. While declining to give details on what led to the firings, it voiced confidence “in the integrity of the process”, adding that it had complied with all labour laws and the two industrial agreements.

Stephen Coakley-Wells, director of legal and government affairs, said: “BTC can confirm that, after a thorough investigation, five employees were terminated with cause. The terminated employees comprised members of both the BCPOU and the BCPMU. Both unions were aware of the issue, including the decision to terminate the employees.

“BTC wishes to emphasise that this decision was made in accordance with our established policies, the terms of our industrial agreements and in alignment with our commitment to fairness and compliance with the labour laws of The Bahamas. Due to privacy considerations and respect for all parties involved, BTC is limited in what it can share regarding the specifics of personnel matters.

“BTC values its positive and collaborative relationship with its union partners, and remains open to communication with the unions on this and any other issue affecting union members. BTC understands that situations like this can be challenging and is confident in the integrity of the process followed.”