From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Bahamas PM Not Pleased with Rumours of Strike Actions
By Tanya Moore, BIS
Mar 17, 2016 - 8:33:25 PM
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Prime Minister the Right Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie, said Thursday that a formula must be found to deal with the labour challenges facing the country, particularly as it relates to the tourism sector.
The Prime Minister was in Grand Bahama speaking at the opening of the Grand Bahama Business Outlook held at the Grand Lucayan on Thursday, March 17.
Mr. Christie noted that when he arrived at the Grand Lucayan resort he was told that a strike was being considered.
Grand Lucayan resort employees who are a part of the Commonwealth Union of Hotel Services and Allied Workers have received from the Ministry of Labour the certificate that will enable them to take industrial action against the company.
It was earlier reported by Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president that Grand Lucayan’s current management has adopted “a very hard position” towards the Commonwealth Union, and negotiations between the two sides had reached “an impasse.”
Disagreement between management and union surrounds reports that the Resort wants to discontinue the employee aid fund, pension and health and welfare funds.
Expressing his discomfort as it relates to strike actions in this country, the Prime Minister said that we must consider that there are other countries who are our competitors, and Sunwing is in other Caribbean countries.
“In the Bahamas, the government, businesses and Trade Unionists must understand that we are all together in this and that when we have challenges we must find the best formula to work out those challenges one doesn’t have to look far nor wide to know what Hutchison’s attitude is.
“It doesn’t make sense to utter threats if you are working in the best interest of the workers -- you sit with the government, the government sits with the operators and owner, and we try to reach a solution in the best interest of the workers. That must be the culture because we are competing with other destinations and in nine out of 10 cases we are more expensive,” Mr. Christie said.
Continuing, he said that we have to find a way to understand our obligations to future generations and investors.
The Prime Minister said he is emotional about this because every day he is watching other countries gain in the tourism sector.
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