The five percent pay cut that has created tension between the government’s negotiating team and the Airport Airline and Allied Workers Union may be gone by 12:30 Monday afternoon.
AAAWU President Nellerine Harding told The Bahama Journal that her union’s representatives expect to meet with government negotiators today, to sign off on an agreement conceding three minor points in exchange for the removal of the pay cut.
“To be honest with you, like I told them, I honestly don’t think what we’re giving is of significance for a five percent (pay cut) to be even on the table, because outright, to me, they were things we could have given concessions on without that,” Ms. Harding said.
“I think they wanted to know if we were willing to give up some things.”
The three concessions government sought are that instead of triple time, union members who are called to work on their days off get double time and a half; an agreement on salary increases over the next five years; and specification of times when flight attendants begin earning overtime.
The union has been without a contract for a year and 10 months, a delay Ms. Harding said was due almost entirely to government’s insistence on the pay cut.
She praised Prime Minister Perry Christie for causing the meetings of the last two days to take place after a conversation in which Ms. Harding gave him an update on the deadlock. She also noted that new Labour Minister Shane Gibson has been mediating the meetings.
She did not hesitate, however, to promise escalating industrial action if things do not go as planned Monday afternoon.
“We obviously still feel strongly about the work-to-rule that we have in progress, and that will definitely escalate.”
“Like I often say, I don’t know how they determine good faith, but it’s built on trust and it’s built on your word as your bond,” Ms. Harding said.
Bahamasair Chairman Basil Sands declined to comment, except to say on Thursday that the meetings were taking place.
The work-to-rule ongoing at the airport has caused noticeable delays in flight operations.
The industrial action began last Monday, and involved staff taking breaks precisely at the scheduled time instead of waiting until a convenient time for the airport’s operations, as is standard practice.
Normally, the airline’s staff would work through their breaks and are compensated in return.
The problem of the pay cut is a long-standing one, as it was part of the government’s counterproposal after negotiations began for a new contract when the 2000 agreement expired.
Ms. Harding said in an earlier interview that while the union has been without a contract for nearly two years, no contract including a five percent pay cut would be accepted. She said her members simply could not afford it.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
