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.