After weeks of a facing a strike threat, the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association acknowledged Sunday that it is unable to reconcile its differences with hotel union officials, intimating that the ball is now squarely in the union’s court.
“There is no doubt that the union’s inflexibility on critical issues is what has brought our country to this point of no return,” the association said in a release to the media.
Meanwhile, Minister of Labour Vincent Peet said Monday that hardly any movement was made after meeting with both sides on Sunday who were trying to reach agreement on a new industrial contract for thousands of tourism industry workers.
Association President J. Barrie Farrington said, “We are extremely disappointed that the additional time we have been provided with has not yielded a conclusive industrial agreement.
“Despite being presented with what is now recognized as a reasonable and fair offer, it seems painfully obvious that the union’s only real objective over the past week was to repeatedly pbulicize the threat of a strike, rather than negotiate in earnest towards a workable solution in the interest of all. So be it. We in the industry will not be deterred from doing what we believe is in the best, long-term interest of the industry and of our country.”
The release also said, “The association and the rest of the country have grown tired of these constant threats. We’ve all seen the dark clouds of a strike build on the horizon for some time, but now the union and the country will have to wait to witness how much damage will result and for how long.”
The association accused the union of publishing half-truths over the weekend regarding what their proposal really is.
“In assessing the cost to the industry the union fails to mention all that they are asking for including the lump sum payments as well as increases in gratuities that in some cases is over 40 percent,” the statement said. “This is completely unreasonable and is the root cause for the stalemate.
Concerns about prospective developers reconsidering their decision to invest in The Bahamas if there is a mass strike in the hotel industry also reemerged over the weekend when Minister Peet confirmed that “substantial” investors are closely monitoring negotiations between the two sides.
Speaking at an emergency press briefing at his office Friday night, Minister Peet urged association and hotel union negotiators to do all within their power to conclude the year-long talks for a new industrial agreement for more than 6,000 employees at 11 hotel properties.
“There are substantial investors who have expressed an interest in The Bahamas, in fact, some of whom are now negotiating Heads of Agreement to open large touristic properties in The Bahamas and they are watching the scene to see whether we are as stable as we have been known to be and whether their investments will be safe and secure,” Minister Peet said.
Noting that negotiations remain at a “critical” stage, Mr. Peet said at the time that some progress had been realised in the protracted talks, however, he declined to disclose details of which issues remain unresolved.
One outstanding issue, he did reveal, continues to be salary-related issues.
He noted further the importance of adequately addressing the concerns of all the parties involved.
“It’s a balancing act that we are engaged in and it’s that type of difficult position where we want to make sure that the workers in The Bahamas and the hotel industry are treated fairly and do get as reasonable wages as possible while at the same time ensuring that the hotels who are doing business in The Bahamas remain in business to employ those workers and to help the Bahamian economy grow,” he said.
Despite his expressed belief that neither party wants a strike, Minister Peet acknowledged that negotiators and government mediators would have to remain vigilant about preventing that level of industrial unrest.
Noting his involvement in facilitating negotiations between the parties for more than a month and the prime minister’s recent involvement, Minister Peet said a proposal, which the government was “instrumental” in preparing, had been presented to both sides to help revive the stalled talks.
Hotel Employer Association and union representatives were expected to review the proposal over the weekend, but made no progress in concluding their negotiations.
Also dealing with the stalled negotiations for a new industrial contract between the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s management and union, Minister Peet said he instructed the parties to return to the negotiation table over the weekend.
Expressing a belief that the combining of the two key sticking points – salaries and pension provisions – complicated negotiations, the Labour Minister said he further instructed the parties to deal with each issue separately.
Salary talks resumed Saturday afternoon while negotiations for pension provisions were scheduled to resume today with the union presenting its proposal to management. BEC management would be required to respond to the proposal by Wednesday, Minister Peet said.
Despite a pledge to return to good faith negotiations, however, a number of BEC employees on Saturday reportedly continued a sickout that started on Friday.
According to a Bahamas Electrical Workers Union representative, as many as 500 employees in New Providence and the Family Islands called in sick on Friday, however, corporation officials who were said to be locked away in meetings all day Friday were not available to confirm that number.
Around the island Friday, long lines formed at some BEC pay stations while others were closed as a result of employees calling in sick.
The two days of industrial unrest at BEC came on the heels of a request for a strike vote to be held tomorrow. Minister Peet said Friday, however, that no decision had been made on whether the strike vote would be allowed to take place.
By Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
