#BTEditorial – Caswell’s thorn in the BWU armour

It may serve the leadership of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) well to begin paying greater attention to Senator Caswell Franklyn’s Unity Workers’ Union (UWU).

From our position in the public square, it appears that there is growing confidence in the fledgling UWU, and more specifically its leader, who has shown great tenacity and dogged commitment to the ideals of protecting the ordinary worker against exploitation by this island’s employers.

We would never argue that there is no place for an expanded number of trade unions. There is nothing wrong with choice. But after seven decades of stellar contributions to workers’ rights and empowerment, it is sad to witness the BWU’s apparent diminishing standing.

It is a well-known fact that trade unions around the world are under tremendous pressure to justify their relevance in a rapidly evolving industrial landscape, shaped largely by globalization.

But Franklyn’s fearless, take-no-prisoners approach, has endeared him to friends and foes. What has made him an even more credible voice, has been his defiance against all comers, no matter their political or financial power.   

We, therefore, are not surprised by the reports that employees in the public and private sectors are abandoning their membership in the big two – the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and the BWU – and taking their union dues over to the UWU.

Employees in the general public sector such as the Prison Service, and state-owned enterprises like the Grantley Adams International Airport Inc., are but a few of the places from which Franklyn has been able to undermine the hold of the NUPW and the BWU.

And not that he needed it in order to cement his place as the poor man’s advocate, but his current platform as an Opposition Senator representing the People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP), has provided Franklyn with a bully pulpit to address a range of issues that are important to the masses.

It is important to note that the BWU’s current leader and Member of Parliament for St George North, Toni Moore, was also a member of the Senate Chamber. We will leave it to the public to judge which representative better leveraged their time in the august chamber.

Yes, the BWU and NUPW have for decades enjoyed the patronage of workers, and this has strengthened their ability to take on some of the toughest labour battles on the industrial relations front.

But as industrial relations take on a more legalistic posture with the enactment of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) and moves away from the longstanding tradition of voluntarism, having a knowledgeable person on the intricacies of our labour laws, is definitely a pull factor for the UWU.

In fact, Franklyn unabashedly declares his success before the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT), juxtaposing this against the limited achievements of the much bigger, and more highly resourced BWU.

The dominant trade unions may hedge their bets on the belief that the UWU lacks the structures and systems that are required to provide adequate representation for a large number of workers. They may also remind their members thinking of making the switch, that Franklyn and his very thin outfit, remain largely a one-man show and so its rise or demise, rests with one person.

In the interim, however, the BWU must address the perceived silence of its General Secretary. And Franklyn, who is not prone to place balm on Moore’s labour wounds, is suggesting that the newly minted MP might be muzzled at a time when workers need her the most and are crying out from unfair treatment, in the current COVID-19 environment.

Franklyn recently told this newspaper: “She thought she knew what she was getting into. I think she found out that was not the case. I think it is time that the workers get together and move her.

“You can’t serve two masters, especially when the two masters are not going in the same direction. So she chose the bed that she wants to lie in, and the workers should kick her out of theirs. She has no right up there masquerading as a General Secretary now,” Franklyn said.

While the BWU leader can dismiss Franklyn’s harsh comments as a tirade from a political opponent, we fear, the incremental damage to the BWU is taking a toll on the organisation.

We suggest it is foolhardy of the BWU’s leadership to ignore the challenger at its doorsteps. If it does, it could do so to its peril.