Tempers flared at the Water & Sewerage Corporation Wednesday when dozens of angry members of the Bahamas Utilities Services & Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) banded together on the Corporation’s Thompson Boulevard premises in another attempt to have their “dictator-like president” removed once and for all.
Bearing placards with statements like “This one-man show has to go” and “Enough is Enough”, the members shouted their complaints as union leader, Huedley Moss, was about to begin a press conference.
The press conference was designed to highlight the union president’s optimism in moving the union forward in the New Year.
“We are not giving him [a] chance to talk,” shouted Alextine Clarke, one union member. “We want to know where our money is going. He caused plenty of our people to get fired. Mr. Moss needs to go. This is the same man who told management to get rid of one of our staff members. He is too greedy. But enough is enough!”
Fighting to speak above the clamor, Mr. Moss fired remarks referring to Ms. Clarke’s academic qualifications, pointing out that her reaction is a clear example of “what dumb people do.”
But it was a statement that only fueled complaints against the union leader even more.
“You’re smart, but you can’t show us where our money is,” Ms. Clarke retorted.
This is not the first time the concerns of some BUSAWU members have reached a boiling point.
Last December, approximately 40 of the Corporation’s unionized employees demonstrated, alleging that Mr. Moss was seeking to collect union dues “like an income tax.”
At the time, the group’s representative, Trevor Roberts, claimed that the new dues would be calculated as a percentage of members’ salaries.
Meanwhile, Edson Cooper, a foreman and union member, alleged that when Mr. Moss’s tenure as president started in 1992, the union had approximately $36,000 on deposit.
Some demonstrators speculated, however, that the union now has fewer than $3,000 left – a claim Mr. Moss later denied.
On Wednesday, Mr. Cooper further accused the BUSAWU leader of also making other decisions without informing union members.
“Huedley hasn’t settled the matters with his members,” he said. “He is spending the membership’s money and is not coming back and telling us how the money is being spent. He is signing agreements and we have no idea of what he is signing. Furthermore, he is telling us that unless we give him an increase in union dues, he will not perform for us. He is trying to blackmail his members to do what he wants. But it is time for him to be removed.”
Union members are also threatening to take legal action should Mr. Moss fail to resolve such issues.
“At this stage, we are waiting for him to straighten the matter out, which he is not doing,” Mr. Cooper claimed. “If nothing is done, we will have to take it to the next level. And we give him until the end of the month before we take action. If our money is good enough for him to take, he should do our work.”
Struggling to address the press in the face of a growing number of incensed members, Mr. Moss, however was forced to continue his comments inside, where he told reporters that “there is absolutely no truth to the allegations.”
ﾠ”There is nothing to hide,” he said. “The facts would clearly reveal that when we took over this union, we owned absolutely nothing.”
He added, “Yes, we had some $30,000 in the bank, but we had nothing. Today, we have just finished paying for a 40,000 sq. ft. property that cost us $200,000. In addition to that, our union is one of the more efficient ones in the country.
“We are in a fantastic financial position, bearing in mind that prior to my taking over the presidency, BUSAWU members were some of the lowest paid in The Bahamas.”
According to Mr. Moss, for every one dollar that workers at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company made, BUSAWU workers were making 50 cents.
Presently, he said, BUSAWU members are some of the highest paid in both the Caribbean and America.
Pointing to the need for a proper salary scale for all government workers, the union leader told reporters that trained teachers are earning less money than labourers employed in the essential services industry. He further pointed out that trained nurses are also making significantly less than the union’s lowest paid member.
Mr. Moss stressed, however, that while the union is pleased with such accomplishments, in an order for the country to meet the challenges of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), changes must be made.
The union leader also said he is not angry with those who chose to demonstrate, adding that they are simply proving that they are resistant to change.
ﾠ”They want the status quo to remain in effect,” he said. “They want to continue to make big-fat Gussiemae salaries while they sit on their posterior, wouldn’t do anything to improve themselves, but yet they expect to make more money than teachers and nurses who are multi-skilled and have several degrees behind their names.
“And it is unfortunate that they do not understand this. We have been told that we are overstaffed by some 80 to 100 persons, so if we have to release workers, who do they think we will release first?”
Addressing claims that he sold union members out for promotions, Mr. Moss claimed that the last promotion exercise was based on “political consideration.”
However, the union leader told reporters that the demonstration would not deter him in carrying out his duties as a leader.
“I will do precisely what I said I would do,” he said. “We will protect the interest of all our workers.”
By Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
