BTC staff unions in bid to have injunction lifted

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 | By NOELLE NICOLLS | Tribune Staff Reporter
UNIONS representing BTC employees will attempt to have an injunction lifted when they appear in court today.
The court order was issued last week after a successful petition by BTC, which claimed the unions were responsible for an “illegal work stoppage.”
The injunction restricted the unions involved from, “inducing employees of BTC to break their respective contracts of employment by taking part in any unlawful industrial action against BTC.”
Bernard Evans, president of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), said the court proceedings have caused the unions to “waste time” in the continuing privatisation dispute.
“We did not do anything illegal. They said that we ‘restrained’ the workers from going to work; that we held our workers hostage. Nothing can be further from the truth. Our lawyers and our team are ready,” said Mr Evans.
The unions and BTC may be locked in another court battle, as attorneys from the BCPOU and the Bahamas Communications and Public Managerial Union (BCPMU) are preparing an action against BTC for “illegal lock out”, contrary to Section 74 of the Industrial Relations Act, according to Mr Evans.
In the meantime, BCPOU and BCPMU executives participated in a strategy meeting with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU), yesterday.
Dr Tyrone Morris, TUC general secretary, confirmed the TUC was “having some discussions” with the BTC unions, and one of the topics of discussion was the suggestion of a general strike.
Although there has been talk of a possible general strike, Mr Evans said the unions have not called for such action as yet. He said if that were necessary, the BTC unions were “more than confident” they would have the support of the other unions.
“We were meeting and strategising on how the labour movement jointly will move forward, not only on the BTC matter, but other outstanding matters,” said Mr Evans.
“Our plans are progressing very well. We have the support, but we want to make sure it is done correctly and properly. There is no rush to do it. This is a golden opportunity for the movement. In conference we will continue to unify our organisations and our resources,” he said.
The “unequivocal intent” of the BTC unions is to have the government change its position on Cable and Wireless (C&W), said Mr Evans.
“The union’s position is this. We do not support C&W as a 51 per cent partner.
“We do not support their strategy, because their overall strategy is about job reduction,” he said.
As for the meeting with C&W chief executive officer David Shaw last week, Mr Evans said there was no “scheduled meeting,” so there was no “no show.”
He said C&W executives set a time and date for a meeting with no consultation, “like we were going to drop everything.”
“They did not have any discussion with us. They came demanding they wanted to meet with us at a time and place that they set. They thought we would drop whatever we were doing and conform,” said Mr Evans.
The union was unable to attend the meeting, because it already had a mass rally scheduled for that time.
Since then, he said, C&W sent a letter of invitation to the BTC unions inviting them to suggest a time for a meeting.
Article via The Tribune Bahamas