Ruling may prompt change to Employment Act

The Nassau Guardian

Ruling may prompt change to Employment Act

A recent decision by the Industrial Tribunal that suggested workers may be entitled to more paid vacation may prompt the government to clarify the Employment Act, Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson said yesterday.

In an August 28 ruling, President of the Industrial Tribunal Harrison Lockhart made a number of recommendations about vacation entitlement as outlined in the Employment Act.

Lockhart ruled that instead of two weeks of vacation time equating to 10 working days and three weeks to 15 working days, two weeks should equal 14 working days and three weeks 21 working days.

Gibson said the ruling was “interesting”.

He said the law may need to specify in days how much paid vacation time a worker is entitled to.

He said he would wait to see the outcome of an appeal before he could say what implications the ruling will have on the workforce.

“Depending on what happens at the end of the day with the appeal’s process we would have to make a decision as to whether or not amendments to the law are necessary to specify days rather than weeks,” Gibson said.

“I know in some industrial agreements it is spelt out where you are entitled to ‘x’ amount of days after the first year rather than weeks.

“In the law I think it is spelt out in weeks rather than days, so if it means bringing clarity and amending the laws, we may have to look at that.”

The Tribunal’s ruling arose in relation to a dispute between The Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Union of Central Bankers.

After the ruling, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) said it had “grave concerns” over the issue.

“We are further seeking legal advice on the matter and expect to launch a swift, definitive and tangible response in due course, utilizing all options of recourse available to us under the law,” said the group’s President Chester Cooper in a statement.

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