No resolution

Unable to find a resolution to their dispute, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and the JADA construction group has turned their matter over to the Labour Department, the union’s retired general secretary Sir Roy Trotman has disclosed.

With general secretary Toni Moore and deputy general secretary Dwaine Paul out of the island, Sir Roy, now a BWU consultant, represented the union at a meeting with JADA’s management yesterday.

Last Thursday, JADA construction workers walked off the job in protest against a decision by management to change their conditions of work.

The employees charged they were being forced to work on Saturdays without additional pay.

In a statement, Sir Roy said while that was a major bone of contention for the workers, there were also other underlying factors that led to the protest.

Sir Roy said the stoppage last week was prompted after a series of warning letters was sent out to workers who indicated they were unable or unwilling to work on Saturdays.

But Sir Roy said those warning letters had been discontinued and workers would work under the conditions that prevailed before the dispute arose.

Sir Roy said: “I am able to say that the stoppage was brought about by many underlying factors relating to claims by the workers that their conditions of employment, the benefits that they receive at the place of work are all being unilaterally being reduced or sometimes eroded by the company itself.

“The immediate cause for the stoppage last week related to the reworking of the company JADA of the workweek.

“The workweek used to run from Monday through to Friday with people working on Saturday on a voluntary basis.

“The company has now varied that and unilaterally without any discussion with anybody, has created a workweek which starts on Friday and goes through until the next Thursday, which means they have put a completely different spin on how the workweek is done and how people would be paid, and that has caused great problems because what it seeks to do is to regularize Saturday as being a normal day whatever the circumstances may be.”

While not going into detail, Sir Roy said that following Monday’s meeting, the parties agreed to allow the Labour Department to intervene in the matter.

Sir Roy said: “We’ve reached agreement during the meeting that this matter needs to be referred to another level and we are seeking to have that level be the Employment Rights Review.

“That was an approach which towards the end of the last administration was brought about by an amendment to parts of labour legislation and it is our view that if you are dealing with matters relating to violations or unilateral variations of your conditions of employment that it should be subject to your Employment Rights Review so we are going to go to the Labour Department and see whether we can pursue the matter from that standpoint.” randybennett@barbadostoday.bb