Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Peet announced on Monday that he has transferred the dispute between the Nassau Yacht Club and The Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union to the Industrial Tribunal for review.
According to the Minister, after two days of talks, representatives from both sides refused to budge from their position.
The dispute flared up last Friday when management of the Yacht Club fired 11 workers amid negotiations for a new industrial contract.
“It is not a healthy thing for the country,” Minister Peet said of the dispute.
He told reporters he made the determination after exhausting every available avenue. He also said he has been assured by the Clubﾴs management that the firings will not affect negotiations.
The Minister made the announcement during a press conference at his office on East Hill Street.
“I agreed to meet today with the entire executive team of the Nassau Yacht Club,” he said, “and had a full and frank discussion on where this matter was headed and again impressed upon the parties my view that we should find a way to diffuse this situation because of the rhetoric and because of the emotional outbursts which have occurred over the past two days.
“The management of the Yacht Club has taken a very strong position. They feel that they have been insulted and verbally attacked. The union also has taken a very strong position in this matter so it really leaves the Minister with just one option which I have exercised.”
Hotel Union Secretary General Leo Douglas has said that negations for a new industrial agreement have been taking place for almost a year now.
He told The Bahama Journal during a demonstration outside the Yacht Club on Friday that, “We have been seeking to improve conditions, but management said the company was experiencing financial problems.
“So all we asked was that they extend the industrial agreement with all the benefits remaining the same, with no increases or anything until maybe within a year or two when business may have improved and the workers were willing to accept this.”
He claimed that management refused this offer and instead tried to “water it down.”
The workers accused management of union busting and of racism, but the Yacht Club has refused to make a statement on the issue.
Mr. Douglas claimed that the Clubﾴs management has decided to employ part-time workers to fill the positions left vacant by the terminated employees.
On Monday, the Minister reminded that no further industrial action should take place while the matter is before the Tribunal. He added that he is pushing for an early hearing the matter.
Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
