Airport Airline & Allied Workers Union (AAAWU) President, Nelerene Harding yesterday told the Bahama Journal that management agreed to honour the overtime payments, as laid out in the unionﾒs industrial agreement that was signed only weeks ago.
According to Ms. Harding, the average flight attendant works a maximum of eight hours, after which they are entitled to double time pay on Saturdays and Sundays.
"I have already spoken to some of my union members," Ms. Harding told the Bahama Journal. "We have agreed that what they have offered is fine. Itﾒs more than fair. We can live with this."
Bahamasairﾒs 60 flight attendants have reportedly not being paid for the overtime they worked in July.
It was during an earlier interview that Ms. Harding revealed that the employees were owed between three and six hours of overtime pay.
In the case of a junior flight attendant, who has clocked three hours in overtime, she said that figure would amount to around $110.
The agreement brings an end to the flight attendantsﾒ work to rule. The decision meant taking their lunch hour every day, which had not been the case in the past.
They had also refused to work overtime until the issue was resolved.
Ms. Harding had admitted that the unionﾒs actions had resulted in flight delays for the national flag carrier during one of the airlineﾒs busiest travel periods of the year.
The union had appealed to Labour Minister Shane Gibson to step in. He opted to remain on the sidelines.
However the Minister expressed optimism that the two sides would soon be able to resolve the issue.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
