A decision by Sandals Royal Bahamian authorizing the hotel union to bargain for the resort’s line staff has been characterized as a regressive, disruptive device aimed at circumventing union presence at the resort.
Mondayﾒs announcement by both Sandals and the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union drew a swift and decisive response from the union that had already sought recognition from the Department of Labour to bargain for those workers.
That response was in the form of a demonstration by more than two dozen Sandals employees and a threat from the Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Unionﾒs lawyer that a trade dispute would be filed that could lead to a strike at Sandals.
About 30 angry Sandals employees who belong to that union thronged around their president, Lynden Taylor, on Tuesday morning at Goodmanﾒs Bay, insisting that they would not be told which union to join.
The protestors seemed to feel that Sandals General Manager Stephen Ziadie was telling them which union to join.
Mr. Taylor explained that the workers at Sandals had been given the opportunity in May to join the hotel union, but the workers rejected that proposition outright.
“[This is] because there was a bunch of stuff going on, a bunch of controversy going on, a bunch of allegations that they were selling out,” Mr. Taylor said.
“And we just didnﾒt want to be a part of an organization that is not going to defend the workers. Thatﾒs why we decided to form our own union.”
Trade Union Congress President Obie Ferguson threatened to file a trade dispute by 5pm Tuesday on behalf of the three-year-old hotel maintenance union against Sandals if Labour Minister Shane Gibson did not sign a certificate recognizing that union as the bargaining agent for Sandals line staff.
“Freedom of choice is fundamental,” Mr. Ferguson said. “I repeat, freedom of choice is fundamental, and I am certain that the Minister of Labour would do the right thing, because itﾒs the people who will decide what to do, not Ziadie.”
“And so the Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Union is the union to represent the workers at Sandals.”
Sandals General Manager Stephen Ziadie told the Journal that his announcement recognizing the “more established union” was not an attempt to force the line staff to join one union over another.
“At no time have I discouraged or encouraged anybody to join any particular union. We have never discouraged any of our staff at any time to not join a union. Weﾒve operated here for ten years, and weﾒve operated as a family and been able to be non-unionized. I have always told my staff that it is their constitutional right to have a union and if they so desire, they can do so. Weﾒre forcing nobody to do anything,” he said.
In fact, Mr. Ziadie said the main reason the resort recognized the hotel union as opposed to Mr. Taylorﾒs union is because that union did not respond to the resortﾒs “numerous attempts through legal counsel” to find out more about the union and its intention for the resortﾒs staff.
He said it was a sound business decision to give voluntary recognition to the hotel union.
As Mr. Ferguson listed the steps the BHMAWU had taken to secure recognition as the bargaining agent for Sandals line staff, workers shouted messages to Minister Gibson.
“Mr. Gibson you need to do what is right,” one lady shouted.
“Speed it up, Mr. Gibson,” a man added.
Mr. Ferguson explained that the BHMAWU had made application to Mr. Gibson for recognition and given the minister the receipts of union members who had paid their dues.
“And so we say to him now, there [isnﾒt any] more dispute, because Ziadie says he wants a union, the workers say they want a union, so thatﾒs the end of the story,” he said.
“So I am certain Mr. Gibson will do the right thing.”
Mr. Taylor supported that statement.
“As our legal advisor told you, we have already made application to the minister. We already went through the correct procedures, and weﾒre just waiting on the minister. Thatﾒs all we are waiting on right now,” he said.
“We are already an organized body; weﾒre just waiting on the minister to do what is right, just to sign (the certificate).”
Mr. Ferguson added that the process of recognition is a process. He suggested that Mr. Ziadie, by recognizing the hotel union which Mr. Ferguson says has questionable legal footing on this issue, was trying to circumvent having a union on the premises.
“Ziadie is trying to say ﾑthis is what I wantﾒ because [he knows] the legal position is not there,” Mr. Ferguson said. “So if he grants [recognition to the hotel union] and [the minister] recognizes it, he comes back and challenges it.”
While he did not say it directly, Mr. Ferguson suggested that it was because Sandals did not want to deal with him that they had refused to recognize the hotel maintenance union.
Others among the crowd shouted “they scared of you, Mr. Ferguson!”
Mr. Ferguson said when the workers at Sandals decided that they wanted to have a union, the hotel maintenance union fit the bill.
Mr. Taylor said he was comfortable with the smaller, less well-funded union because it was made up of Sandals workers, and was uniquely familiar with the needs of Sandals workers specifically.
“This is the better union for us,” he said.
Asked if heﾒs ready for a strike, Mr. Taylor took a deep breath, and a pause before responding.
“My take on it is that we definitely have to do what we have to do in order to get what we actually set forward, so if thatﾒs what we have to do, thatﾒs what we will do,” he said.
Mr. Ziadie responded to the threat of litigation and possibly a strike by Sandals workers.
“We have broken no laws and denied [nobody] their rights here. Based on the non-response and the fact that we received two applications to have recognition from a union, we had to make a sound business decision and a decision that would benefit our employees and our business to give recognition to the more established union,” he said.
Asked about the possibility that workers in Mr. Taylorﾒs union might strike, Mr. Ziadie insisted that his organization had done nothing wrong.
“We intend to talk to our employees as we have in the past. We have done nothing wrong here. We have gone with a more established union that operates within The Bahamas having over 80 percent of the workers in the industry, and weﾒre confident that we will dialogue with our staff to come to some agreement that we move down the road,” he said.
The protesting workers told the Journal Tuesday morning that representatives of the other union ﾖ headed by Roy Colebrooke, who is performing duties as president of the hotel union, but still faces a court battle ﾖ were on the property at Sandals that morning seeking to sign members up.
A copy of Mr. Ziadieﾒs letter recognizing the hotel union was first put in a garbage bag and then burned by some of those employees in a symbolic statement of the documentﾒs perceived worth.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
