“This question only arises because people look on and judge the movement by the current crop of leaders.”

Methinks this doesn’t only apply to the trade union movement…. Question begs… Is there better leadership “around?”

If so, where is it or why hasn’t it “risen?”

If not, what the hell are we teaching and mentoring?

@Caswell

If the union membership is as passive as you suggest does it not mean they are happy with the representation they are getting?

David

Workers are not happy with the representation that they have been receiving, but they are too docile to do anything about.

@ Caswell
Are you saying that the reason for being in existence is that bosses continue to exploit workers and working conditions continue to be sub standard….?

You just explained exactly why the leadership is poor, why the movement is failing and why the very question of continued existence arises at all.

ANY ORGANIZATION THAT EXIST ONLY FOR NEGATIVE REASONS deserves to become extinct. If managers were intelligent enough to act in their own interest by treating workers like partners what would the current unions be needed to do…? …and if the role is simply to fight idiotic bosses – why do we need anything other than the current Mary R types? No common sense needed for that…

After the Frank Walcott era, the union movement, (if it was as visionary as it likes to think that it is,) would have transformed itself into a true representative of the workers by FINDING ITSELF IN THE BOARDROOMS OF BARBADOS as significant shareholders on workers behalf.

Rather than fighting for crumbs in the form of pittance wage increases, they should have been fighting for FULL PARTNERSHIP of workers at the decision making level.

But little men were more interested in building their little empires – which meant playing ball with the politicians and the businessmen….and pretending to continue with the 1950s tactics of ‘march and strike.’

Caswell, when you going leave out that Unity thing and start working to take up your REAL calling…? 🙂

If the movement ceases to exists, workers would be at the mercy of employers who want to make money without regard to the living and working conditions of the workforce.
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Is this not this case anyway? The head of the nupw works in a building where the workers are constantly complaining for respiratory complaints, where the edp did testing on air quality, where mold is visable on cabinets, furniture, glass partitions and what has he done?…….NOTHING TO REPRESENT THE WORKERS!

The trade unions are of no relevance to me because I cannot trust leaders who will try to play the friendship card (with the ones against whom I have a matter) and tell me to hold off while they try to sort the matter out and three years later I can’t hear anything from anybody but can see a man rise up off his sick bed to represent Jeff Broomes!

No, I will do like so many others and simply wait for the government to change and then go another route to get my matter resolved another way!

But Caswell,
You know that Dennis Clarke’s illness raised the issue of NUPW’s future. They use to have Wayne Waldron out front as a face for the future but all of a sudden he is scarce. Derek Alleyne is gone and fast approaching retirement age, You are gone with your own Union. Who next after Clarke finally retires?

At BWU Trotman keeps saying he wants to go but they keep begging him to stay. Bobby is gone, Gabby Scott is an old man, Richards already retired, Mayers is almost 80 years old. And they don’t seem to have a young crop.
So, is there even going to be a labour movement when the current old heads go?

Lizbeth

NUPW has been on autopilot since Goddard retired. Clarke was promoted to the level of his incompetence. He was quite happy to let Wayne speak and be the alternate voice of the union because Wayne would make even Clarke look competent. NUPW will survive after Clarke, I believe that “after Clarke” would be the best thing that could happen to the union. With Roslyn at the helm while he was on sick leave, the union started to really do some work. The work at NUPW does not happen as a result of Clarke: it happens despite Clarke. You should really be asking what will happen after Roslyn Smith and Delcia Burke go.

At BWU, Trotman is not holding on because they need him: he is holding on to groom an “ungroomable” young lady, all the while holding back the young talented Julian Hunte, who is the future of BWU if they let him.

Caswell
As long as we have capitalism and some greedy employersbusinessmen who set out to rip off workers unscrupulously…we will need people like you and Unity.A world without TU’s would be chaotic,with frequent strikes and down times ..productivity falling.

it seems that these unions are too closely politically tied and as a result some thing or some one have to suffer and unfortunately leadership self interest takes precedent over workers what in reality can be termed a conflict of interest leaving the members out in the cold with no one to turn to. it would take a concerted effort agree by all members to withdraw their membership and that would not happen because of the many factions and allegiances made by leaders within the union.

corr: things

onions boy,
Your teacher friends are very mad with Freundel, they say that he has let them down, he is not trustworthy and one a hardcore Dem on the Executive say that she is done with the Dems. Both the President and the General Secretary are Foundationers and I wonder if they thought that Fruendel who is also a Foundationer would have taken their side. But they say that the PM sold them out and led them to believe that he would send the principal on leave. One principal at this gathering I was at said that this is a victory for all principals that had the PM given the union what they wanted, it would be hell to pay for principals everywhere in Barbados. WOW!!!!

de unions does employ de people dat join dem

I just saw Sir Roy on television claiming that 30 workers were dismissed from Diamonds International because they attended a union meeting. He then went on to threaten industrial action. If what he is saying is true the management of Diamonds International would have committed a criminal offence. That being the case, Sir Roy should report the matter to the police or consult their lawyer with a view to instituting a private criminal prosecution. Section 40A of the Trade Union Act speaks for itself:

40A. An employer who –
(a) dismisses a workman or adversely affects the employment or alters the position of a workman to his prejudice because that workman –
(i) is or proposes to become an officer, delegate or member of a trade union,

(ii) being a member of a trade union which is seeking better labour conditions, is dissatisfied with his conditions.

(iii) has absented himself from work without leave after he has made an application for leave for the purpose of carrying out his duties or exercising his rights as an officer or delegate of a trade union and such leave has unreasonably been refused or withheld, or

(iv) takes part in trade union activities outside or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours: or
(b) threatens to dismiss a workman or to adversely affect the employment or alter the position of a workman to his prejudice –
(i) because that workman is or proposes to become an officer, delegate or member of a trade union or other combination which has applied to be registered as a trade union, or

(ii) with intent to dissuade or prevent that workman from becoming an officer, delegate or member of a trade union.
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

I also saw the Prime Minister vowing that he and his Government would protect workers rights. What about the rights of the workers at the Urban Development Commission who were dismissed just because they were suspected of being members and supporters of the BLP?

@ Caswell
I also saw the Prime Minister vowing that he and his Government would protect workers rights. What about the rights of the workers at the Urban Development Commission who were dismissed just because they were suspected of being members and supporters of the BLP?
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As usual Caswie…top shot…..its called a “prejudiced one-eyed view”…..By the way has anyone heard anything of the LIME wages settlement ? What has become of their dispute ? Last word…..we were supposed to be be briefed on the matter since Good Friday weekend..(I was overseas since} did I miss something ?

Adrian

The evidence presented so far suggest that employer would have committed a criminal offence, since it is against the law for an employer to dismiss a worker who joins or proposes to join a trade union. What do you think of my suggestion to report the matter to the police or to bring a private criminal action against the employer?

@Caswell:
It is a good point and approach; however if there is no proof that they were indeed fired as Sir Roy suggested then there is no case. Although Barbados does have a problem with foreign born business people flouting cultural norms, and established practices, it is an unusual step to engage in illegal practices such as you have suggested, and in such a public and crass manner. It would be silly for this company to say in writing or in the media that the reason they fired the workers were as the Union boss said.

If true -what Sir Roy stated- this isn’t only offensive to the fired workers, it is offensive to every law abiding Barbadian, and they should urge government to intervene, and they themselves to abstain from conducting any business with this company. You cannot get change if you do not put in your two cents worth. People will continue to walk all over you if you don’t stand up to them, in their faces.

David

It is clear that making noise for the gallery and what you called the traditional approach has not worked in the recent past. If you do something in a particular way over and over and you get the same result, what would make you think that if you do it the same way again you would get a different result? It is time that the unions use a different approach.

Without going into the details of the Royal Shop matter and assuming that the workers were fired because they joined the union as alleged; let us imagine that the matter was taken to court and the employer convicted and sentenced, Do you think that another employer would have tried dismissing workers for joining a union any time soon?

Prodigal Son! That disclosure that the teachers are upset with Stuart was a given. There is no way they could not be upset given the AX events.

His decision to back the BSTU and of late no comment by him is passing strange.

The trade union movement has blended into the socio/political fabric of the society. Once the movement moved away from activism to the so-called social partnership, its activism wing either disappeared or simply became comatose. I will continue to suggest that the social partnership is a two edged sword.

David; I agree with Onions on this one. Sir Roy should only be expected to comment further on the Lime matter if he had knowledge of behind the scenes moves by Lime head Office overseas to water down the “preliminary agreements” reached between the Lime local reps and the PM and Sir Roy. In fact such a behind the scenes move is the only possibility that makes sense re. the PM’s promise to have a press release on the matter several weeks ago and not keeping that promise.

So perhaps we may hear something soon, a la AX where the PM, may once more, be appearing to go against a Union. If that indeed happens then we should really hear Sir Roy pompasetting.

But I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Sir Roy has overstayed his welcome. He is now worn and just marking time. His success rate is highly questionable. Now he is making these racist statements which are totally out of place! Sir Frank must be turning in his grave!!

re. balance post of 1:30 PM;

Or perhaps he is in phase 2 of the Government’s CLICO public perception management strategy which seems to be purpose built for his proclivities. i.e. avoid any engagement with the public on anything related to CLICO.

Phase one probably was; avoid being served with any official negative information on CLICO that a typical Government might consider it necessary to respond to. (i.e. any information on CLICO)

Phase 3 might be; ensure as far as possible that nothing negative comes out of the JM report about CLICO before the Elections.

Since time eternal foreign companies have with impunity,treated Bajans like step-children in good old Barbados.Truth be told there are some pets that receive better treatment.Caswell is right on point.This is a matter for the law courts.This is also a matter that every trade union in the country should speak to,in one clear voice.However that will never happen.Over the years inaction on the part of the leaders in the movement led to disillusionment,hence the members’s docility.I take you back to one Saturday morning at a store on swan’s street when a bajan man was kicked– yes kicked in the ass by a syrian store owner.What happened? Nothing.Lets go back to the indignities bajans endured while they gave their labour to Ram Merchandani.The same institution that stymied every attempt to get the Rams to respect us back then is very much alive today,so the end result most surely shall be the same.Know why that institution still lives?WE VOTED FOR THEM.

David

The worst thing that happened to the cause of workers in my lifetime is the establishment of the social partnership. It was created in at a time when the politicians in government and in the labour movement wanted to control the anger of the workers. Around the time of the 8 per cent pay cut, when the workers were demanding action from the union leaders. You would recall that Bobby did not support the workers and Sir Roy was conveniently away from the House for the vote. I remember seeing him signing cheques at the CCL instead of supporting the workers. At that time all the leaders of the major unions were firmly in the camp of the DLP. I would put my head on the block that the social partnership would not have been formed if the BLP were in power. The social partnership was conceived in sin and born in sin, it is high time that it is exercised.

When Owen Arthur came to power he took over the demon that is the social partnership and also used it to control the legitimate expectations of workers. The resulting trade union movement is now totally disrespected.