Employees at Morton Bahamas Limited may walk off their jobs today if management continues in its attempts to have Section 46.2 of the Industrial Relations Act excluded from contractual agreements.
According to information reaching the Guardian, Morton Bahamas is insisting that the Bahamas Manufacturing Industrial and Allied Workers Union, which represents the 161 non-managerial employees, exclude the section that stipulates that any dispute that cannot be resolved be forwarded to the Tribunal.
BIMAWU, however, has taken a definitive stance on the matter and is refusing to give in to the company’s request.
The company “is in no position to exclude any portion of the Industrial Relations Act,” the union said through a press release.
“To do so would be illegal,” the union added. The union further advised that if the contract is not signed by today, “we will take industrial actions.”
Union president, Wilfred Seymour, observed that the position taken by the company “is the only issue preventing the contract from being executed.”
The first industrial agreement between the union and the company was signed last November after a three-year-battle. In addition, a supplemental agreement was also signed that allows for both sides to finalise other matters, mainly arbitration, in the event of a dispute.
The industrial agreement provided employees with benefits related to vacation, pay, health and safety, education and training.
At the signing, the union stated that negotiations would continue. Apparently certain mandatory provisions were inadvertently omitted from the industrial agreement. These needed to be accounted for by the preparation of a further agreement that can be supplemental to and part of the industrial agreement already signed.
The union further stated that “the parties therefore will negotiate an appropriate addition to the supplemental agreement providing for Binding Private Arbitration of all matters, so as to avoid the necessity of involving the Department of Labour and the Industrial Tribunal in any dispute resolution process.”
The union continued that by providing for Private Binding Arbitration, they would be taking a major step toward easing stress in the workplace.
When contacted, the union’s adviser and attorney, Obie Ferguson, said he was on his way to the Ministry of Labour to try and find a resolution to the matter.
He told the Guardian that as far as he knew the industrial agreement was still scheduled to take place.
Morton has been in The Bahamas for the past 50 years, and is the largest employer on the island of Inagua. The company produces an average of one million tons of salt per year.
By Keva Lightbourne, The Nassau Guardian
