In a move that appears to embolden criminals and will clearly contribute to an increase of crime in The Bahamas, a judge has discharged an injunction barring employees of the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) from engaging in “illegal” activities.
Newly minted Supreme Court Justice Bernard Turner issued a verbal ruling yesterday as he lifted the injunction that restricted the unions from “inducing employees of BTC to break their respective contracts of employment by taking part in any unlawful industrial action against BTC.”
The Tribune newspaper reports that BTC’s attorneys have indicated that they intend to appeal the decision. Meanwhile, the unions representing BTC employees have given an assurance to the court that no industrial action would take place pending the outcome of an appeal.
The injunction was issued after the unions, protesting the sale of BTC to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), staged a massive work stoppage that BTC company officals deemed “illegal”. The protest shut down BTC facilites. Union leaders deny that the actions were illegal.
