WSC unions on work to rule

The nearly 300 members of the Bahamas Utilities Services and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) have “withdrawn their enthusiasm” and are now operating under work to rule, according to the union’s president Dwayne Woods.

Dozens of BUSAWU members attended a meeting at the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) compound off of John F. Kennedy Drive yesterday morning where they turned in their company cellphones to the union, as instructed, in a bid to ignore the calls of WSC executives.

Woods said after nearly two years of about 35 issues not being addressed by WSC’s executive team, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the deferral of Christmas bonuses, which he said totaled some $700 for each member.

“The problem we have is not actually the funds, you know,” Woods said.

“We separate ourselves from the stigma where persons see unions as greedy. We are arguing the point that the late notice of non-payment is an issue and the indefinite postponement or deferral of the Christmas bonus is a problem because the persons already spend that.

“Had we been given two or three months notice and had time to plan for this Christmas for our kids and our family, then we see no issue with the postponement. We got notice on the 3rd of December and the payment is on the 17. That is unbearable.”

He added, “What is actually happening is these people who are being paid their regular salary today has to live with that regular salary to the end of January.”

In the House of Assembly last evening, WSC Executive Chairman Adrian Gibson told parliamentarians that the deferral of Christmas bonuses were brought on by the pandemic and in no way meant the employees would not get them.

“The whole country has seen the economic downturn this year and so bonuses were deferred and not denied,” Gibson said.

“Since March, WSC employees have been taking home their full salaries although they were working four to five hours per day. The average staff salary for line staff is somewhere around $40,000. The average salary for middle manager is around $75,000. And so we are talking about perks, full medical insurance and you can add members of your family to your insurance at a concessionary rate, cellphones and allowances, Christmas bonus, proficiency pay.”

Low morale 

Woods said WSC’s executive team has been unwilling to meet with the union for many months, which has led to BUSAWU pursuing a meeting with the Minister of Public Works, which he said is scheduled for today.

“The morale of the worker has dropped to an all time low,” Woods said.

“And what is happening is the people are standing up to say we can’t take this no more. Mama, take this load off me.

“We have 35 matters or items of industrial nature to the corporation and the corporation has failed to come the table in more than 20 months for us to resolve them.”

An injunction granted by Chief Justice Brian Moree in February prevents the union from taking strike action.

That injunction was sought by the corporation after the striking workers refused to go back to work even though the unions were informed that the minister of labor had referred the matter to the Industrial Tribunal.

Woods said while the members are unable to take further action, there are “more ways to skin a cat” as the workers, he added, feel undervalued.

“We stepped up to the plate when it was necessary to make the government look good with being deemed essential workers,” he said.

“We kept the water in the pipes. We kept it running in order to help maintain the health and safety of the nation. We got to the point where we had 12 persons who contracted the virus. Two met their untimely demise. May their souls rest in peace and rise in glory. And so we’re asking the government, look man, we were there for you, please be there for us.”

WSC Manager’s Union President Ednel Rolle said he hopes the matters concerning line staff and management are resolved by the minister responsible as the unions have no faith in the corporation’s executive team.

“All that’s been done since the injunction was granted is they [the corporation] rolled back benefits,” Rolle said.

“This is basically our work to rule. We’re not doing anything extra until we meet with the minister.”

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/wsc-unions-on-work-to-rule/