Morris tells Moore to focus on BWU

Veteran trade unionist Robert ‘Bobby’ Morris has called on the general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), who is seeking to represent the St George North constituency, to pay more attention to the union’s affairs.

Morris, who is a former deputy general secretary of the island’s largest trade union, told a political meeting at Flat Rock, St George that as a paying BWU member he had several questions for general secretary Toni Moore.

The former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Member of Parliament was at the time endorsing the candidacy of Floyd Reifer at the meeting held on Sunday night.

“I do not want a general secretary . . . who is reporting on BERT [the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation plan] and BOSS [the Barbados Optional Savings Scheme]. I want one who can tell and report on what is happening with the NIS Fund, the Unemployment Fund, the Severance Fund,” Morris said.

“I have not heard a word from her. I want to hear a clear vision from her about where the Barbados Workers’ Union will be in the next few years. I don’t want to hear it from a politician, I want to hear it from the general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union.”

The history lecturer wants to know the BWU’s plans for the multi-million-dollar Labour College at Mangrove, St Philip. He also charged that there have been four failed housing projects which the general secretary should give an update on.

“The Labour College that [Sir] Frank Walcott set up in 1974 is no longer functional. There are four people up there cutting the grass and keeping it tidy, etc. I don’t know if they are still getting the subvention because I don’t have that kind of information any more.

“That Labour College was a shining star throughout the Caribbean in the hemisphere, in the world. It was different from those other labour colleges. Can you imagine closing up the Labour College when you want labour education more than ever now, when workers need to be trained? Can you really understand why 33 years after the union was formed, they built a labour college that is closed, dead, nothing is happening? Isn’t that something that the general secretary should be spending her time on? Doesn’t the Barbados Workers’ Union want her to do that?” Morris questioned.

He further contended that Moore should be spending her time training the young workers at the union.

“The staff at the Barbados Workers’ Union is generally a young staff because most of the oldsters went off. Gabby Scott, Yvonne Walkes, Bobby Morris and Ulric Sealy – one of the best we had in labour education and he is a St George man too. Most of the people are young – the ones who are doing negotiations, the ones who are organising. So you know what they want? They want a general secretary to train them,” he said.

“I train people to work at Arawak, FCIB; there was no company too complex that I couldn’t train. These people need that when they run in a difficult position to be able to say to the general secretary, ‘come and advise me’. They want leadership, direction and guidance.”

The trade unionist said he also wanted Moore to pay attention to the constitutional position in the rule book of the Barbados Workers’ Union.

“The BWU is in a very serious position. It cannot have increased union dues, members are dropping out. She also has to tell me what she will do with a building that was bought from across the road, a non-performing asset. How do you buy a building like that when the money could have gone to the Labour College?”

Morris said Moore must also report on United Commercial Autoworks Limited (UCAL), since Transport Board workers invested their severance in it.

“She needs to tell me what is happening at UCAL. You aren’t hearing anything about UCAL these days at all. We do not know if the shares are worth anything at this time. We have no idea about the investment of those workers who were laid off from the Transport Board and put their money there . . . . Can they get any returns on their investment? General secretary, tell us about that,” he said. (IMC)