“Irresponsible actions or statements by labour leaders not only affect us in The Bahamas, but also potential investors who come to The Bahamas. And, we are now in negotiations with some very large investors who have expressed concern about the labour unrest,” the minister told Wendall Jones, host of Jones and Company.
He said while the Government is “worker-friendly,” it refuses to be “abused” or allow Bahamians to be abused or the economy to be “endangered.”
For more than an hour, Mr Peet answered questions regarding the labour unrest in the country, mainly last week’s demonstrations by the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union and the “deliberate sabotage” of four power lines.
BEC sabotage
Mr Peet called last week “disturbing” and the sabotage an “extreme reaction.” He expressed confidence that the police investigation will expose the culprit(s).
“The most disturbing part of it for me was the acts of sabotage. The most disturbing part was how we were so close to concluding the negotiations and how words spoken by the union president and (BEC’s) executive management could have sparked such an extreme reaction,” he said. “I did not see the need for such an extreme reaction.”
Denying the allegations
However, unionists have dispelled allegations that they or their members were involved in the sabotage, which resulted in about a four hour-long island-wide power outage.
According to Minister Peet it is these “extreme reactions” that have potential investors thinking twice about continuing negotiations with the Government.
“I have made it very clear to the hotel union leaders during the hotel negotiations, the prime minister (Perry Christie) made it very clear then, I made it clear to the BEC parties about the present concern, where a number of investors have called in to express their concern about the stability of the economy. And so, this is bigger than just labour. This is bigger than just unions and individuals. And, I told them that there is no place for egos around the negotiating table when your action could, in fact, impact the product of The Bahamas,” said Mr Peet.
Mr Jones further questioned whether electrical workers should be allowed to work near or on equipment while taking an industrial action, keeping the island hostage.
Mr Peet responded, “The action taken was an illegal strike, which would normally call for criminal sanctions in such a case… but the very nature of an essential service is that you have to protect it. And so, the laws provides for that to be done. As with the BEC case, everything that happened, I believe, would have to be reviewed and the Government will have to respond, once the facts are in.”
Prime Minister’s involvement in negotiations
Mr Peet’s image was also questioned. Mr Jones asked him whether he worried of being perceived as “soft” because, on several occasions, Mr Christie would join the more heated negotiations.
“Why should the prime minister get involved? Is it because they do not have confidence in your leadership?” Mr Jones asked, to which Mr Peet responded, “It’s important just for the record to reflect that there were 24 industrial agreements negotiated and signed by the minister, two where his intervention was requested or required.”
Concerning the hotel agreement, which ended last month, Mr Peet said it might have been at the cost of the country’s tourism industry.
Productivity
“It is clear that the cost of the product has increased as a result of these negotiations, but to make it more palatable, there is a commitment by the hotel union and its members to improve service, to buy into productivity as a measurement of dealing with the tourists and moving forward and use productivity as the tool for satisfying visitors… While there is an increase on one hand, there is a corresponding improvement in service and productivity levels,” he said.
To his detractors, Mr Peet assured that by next year an economic boom will “kick in,” as a result of “deliberate planning” by the Government.
“We’ve been laying the foundation for growth, development and job creation. The prime minister has been very deliberate. And, I expected that many Bahamians would not be tolerant enough to wait for things to happen, but when you inherit an economy that you had to almost restructure, when you inherit a situation when the whole world’s economy was sluggish and you are now attracting new investments, substantial investments into the country, it takes a while for those investments to actually take hold,” Mr Peet said, promising, “Starting next year, you would start to see and feel the economic impact of investments coming on.”
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
