The Bahamas Hotel Employers Association (BHEA) has shot back after General Secretary of The Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union Leo Douglas recently warned that there could be industrial unrest if certain matters were not resolved.
Mr. Douglas claimed that some BHEA members have consistently failed to abide by a provision in the 2004 industrial agreement, which deals with binding private arbitration. He claimed that certain member properties are making a mockery of the provision and pointed a finger at Kerzner International.
But the Association said in a statement yesterday that the claims made by Mr. Douglas not only misrepresented the issues in question, but mischaracterized the action of BHEA members.
The Association’s President J. Barrie Farrington, who is also an executive of Kerzner’s Atlantis Resort, said, “The BHEA has never moved away from its commitment to resolve all disputes through the process that we agreed in 2004, which has been in existence since 1995 and throughout the years and has shown good faith in following the spirit and the letter of the industrial agreement.
“We are disappointed by Mr. Douglas’ attempt to mischaracterize our members by stating that they have no respect for the dispute resolution process. ﾠNothing can be further from the truth.”
Section 45 of the industrial agreement sets forth a clear two-step process for the resolution of limited disputes, the statement notes.
The first step following the filing of a dispute is to attempt to effect conciliation through a hearing by the Review Committee of three panelists comprising an independent chairman, and two side members – one from the union and one from the BHEA.
Many disputes are resolved at this juncture, the statement said. ﾠHowever, it said, the industrial agreement also provides that if either party disagrees with the recommendation of the Review Committee, they have the right to take the matter to private binding arbitration, which is the second step in the dispute resolution process.
But despite this arrangement, Mr. Douglas recently said that disputes between the parties often remain unresolved for long periods.
“We would file a dispute, go down to the review hearing and get an unanimous vote, but even though we get an unanimous decision (the employers), particularly Kerzner, would say they are not obeying anything,” Mr. Douglas claimed. “They would say they don’t agree and that’s it.”
Mr. Douglas further claimed that the issues may continue to go unresolved because some negotiators are simply not familiar with the dispute resolution process.
BHEA officials, however, said that it is incomprehensible that the union should now complain about BHEA members exercising their rights to have their disputes referred to arbitration.
The statement said that in December 2005, the BHEA by letter to Mr. Douglas agreed to meet with the union in early January 2006 to discuss the concerns of the union with respect to section 45.
“Mr. Douglas instead filed a dispute with the Ministry of Labour and a meeting was set by the Ministry for January 12, but the union requested a new date because the date conflicted with their travel plans,” the Association’s statement said.
“Now Mr. Douglas suggested an urgency for resolution that previously was not in evidence.”
Both sides are set to meet today to discuss concerns.
By Royanne Forbes, The Bahama Journal
