#BTColumn – The role of the NUPW president

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Dr Derek Alleyne

As a former Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and one who cares about how the affairs of the Union are managed, I am constrained to comment about the continuous actions of the President in usurping the role of General Secretary.

The recent declaration by the President that he was invoking section 104 of the Safety and Health at Work may seem appropriate but the authority to declare a workplace unhealthy or unsafe does not rest with the President of the Union.

The Act speaks to the “Right to refuse dangerous work” and declares “When there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the employee’ safety and health are in imminent danger, that employee may refuse to carry out the task assigned to him pending consultation with: the safety and health committee; the trade union.

The officer for making such a declaration is the General Secretary or his designated officer after consultation and not the President.

Clearly there are issues related to the COVID-19 spread at the prison and the civilian staff may feel they are in imminent danger but this highhandedness by the President has the potential to place the NUPW, already under pressure, into further confusion.

The reason for the hiring a General Secretary at the NUPW is that it protects public officers from sanction for statements or action made in defence of public workers’ interests. As a consequence, the General Secretary is responsible for the administration of the union’s affairs and by rule 12a is responsible for the work of the Union.

The President by rule 11d presides at conferences, general and special meetings and meetings of the National Council.

Making statements of an industrial relations nature is not the President’s call because often the President is neither trained or au fait with the principles relating to conciliation or grievance handling generally.

This call on behalf of the prison staff may be well meaning but any calls for work stoppage especially at a time when an Emergency Powers regime is in place must be done after consultation with all parties.

I have for the last six years been trying, without success, to get the paid Secretariat to assume its responsibility and to ensure that statements made and actions taken are done within the protocols and practices that guide industrial relations.

While the Secretariat is now staffed by acting officers, it is within the levels of their remit to rectify any statement that potentially places the Union in a bad light.

The call at the Prison has the potential to do just that and the General Secretary has the right to take the appropriate action in the best interest of the Union.

Dr Derek Alleyne is a trade unionist, social commentator and member of the Democratic Labour Party.