Sparks flew after Bahamas Electrical Utilities Managerial Union president and training officer Timothy Moore was relieved off his duties on Friday.
The workers demanded that Mr. Moore be reinstated before 12 noon Wednesday, before they met with Labour Minister Vincent Peet later that afternoon.
“The Ministry of Labour has intervened. What will happen now is that they will set up a series of meetings with management, beginning later this week,” Bahamas Electricity Workers Union president Dennis Williams announced.
However, although Wednesday’s strike plans were called off, he said, there is still a possibility that industrial action could be taken later this week, “or another day.”
Meanwhile, in a statement sent to The Guardian on Thursday, BEC executives responded to several “inaccurate and misleading statements” in the media.
The dispute was not a “union issue,” BEC management said, but one between an employer and employee, further characterising “the claim of union busting as a ‘red herring’, and a diversionary tactic “intended to incite and mislead the hardworking, responsible staff of BEC and the public.”
The release followed comments made on Tuesday by Mr. Williams and Mr. Moore, who claimed that the latter’s firing was the most recent of several attempts by management to “victimize” and silence employees, especially those affiliated with unions.
A letter to Mr. Moore, dated July 18, and signed by BEC General Manager Bradley Roberts,accused him of being an “uncooperative and disruptive” employee, and further, that, “You have also demonstrated an unwillingness to align yourself with the goals and objectives of the Corporation, which has frustrated the growth and development of employees and the organization.”
However, Mr. Moore protested that during his 24-year employment with BEC, his performance and work ethics were never questioned, and he had been rewarded with increments and annual performance bonuses.
The day after his termination and subsequent union protests, BEC executives said Mr. Moore would be placed on suspension, but with full pay.
According to the utility corporation’s statement, “There was an agreement between Mr. Moore, Mr. Williams and Mr. Al Jarrett (BEC Chairman), resulting in the issuing of a letter by the Chairman, which all parties found acceptable.
“Knowing that the Chairman had given a commitment to review the matter,” the release continued, “this agreement was breached by Mr. Moore and Mr. Williams within 24 hours. It is unfortunate that they chose to pre-empt the review and engage in such a public press release.”
Management expected a response letter from Mr. Moore on Monday, the release went on, but the letter was not received until two days after.
“Unfairly” discussing the agreement with the press, the statement asserted, proved that Mr. Moore was indeed “disruptive and confrontational,” said the statement, decrying the fact that, “in the press, they are castigating and maligning the characters of the General Manager and executives.”
The statement further noted that, “The board and management have been more open and receptive than ever before in building trust, mutual respect, engendering a spirit of cooperation and harmony with the unions, and therefore, their claim of union busting is most irresponsible and unfair.”
Nonetheless, the statement continued, BEC management will continue to pursue the matter within the confines of the law and proceed in its quest for harmony in the workplace.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
