The Ministry of Labour and
National Insurance advises that the following trade unions have filed trade disputes with the department
of labor and have subsequently taken strike votes on the disputes filed. All of
the filed disputes have been referred to the industrial tribunal by the
Minister of Labor and are therefore on-going matters before the Industrial
Tribunal:
· The
Bahamas Industrial Manufacturers and Allied Workers Union,
· The
Bahamas Nurses Union,
· The
Commonwealth Union of Hotel Services and Allied Workers,
· The
Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association,
· The
Bahamas Customs Immigration Allied Workers Union,
·
The Bahamas Educators Managerial Union
The Ministry reminds all
concerned persons that Section 77 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act Chapter 321 of the Statute Laws of The
Bahamas states that , “No employee shall go on strike, and no employer shall
declare a lock-out, and no union or member of the executive committee or other
governing body of a union shall call a strike or declare a lock-out in
consequence of a trade dispute while proceedings taken in relation to that
dispute are pending before the Tribunal or the Court of Appeal.”
Workers are, therefore,
advised that any industrial action taken after these disputes were referred to
the industrial tribunal, is illegal. Accordingly, any worker who engages in any
illegal strike action is not protected
by the laws of The Bahamas and employers are free to treat them as employees,
illegally withdrawing their labor.