Union leaders, possibly looking out for their own selfish interests in the BTC controversy, may be leading their membership down a slippery slope.
Union leaders remain defiant in the face of Prime Minister Ingraham’s warning concerning industrial unrest related to the sale of a majority share of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to foreign-owned Cable & Wirless Communications (CWC).
On Saturday, Mr Ingraham cautioned public service workers against participating in industrial unrest that may be called by union leaders.
“I wish to caution them not to follow the current plans of the president of the NCTUB and BCPOU because when you walk off your job, if you do, there is no, guarantee that you can come back to that job – no guarantee.
“Jobs are scarce. Jobs are hard to find. And no one is able to stop you from cutting off your nose to spite your face, that is your face. But at the end of the day, you won’t have a nose – that is the judgment you can make,” said Mr Ingraham at an FNM event in Grand Bahama.
However, Bernard Evans, the union leader leading the fight against the sale, said workers already know there will be job cuts within two years after the consumation of the deal with Cable and Wireless, so they have nothing to lose by agitating and opposing the sale to the bitter end.
Mr Evans, President of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), said:
“we are going to continue that fight throughout the Christmas and into the new year if we have to. But certainly, we will continue with the National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and we will not succumb to any kind of threats over job losses.”
Since the deal was announced, the unions have intensified their objections to the planned sale and have on several occasions threatened a national strike.
Union sources told a local newspaper that a ‘black Christmas’ is being contemplated.
