SISA and BAMC reach agreement

Years of contention between the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) and the Sugar Industry Staff Association (SISA) have seemingly come to an end.

This morning the two entities signed a collective bargaining agreement during a press conference at the Portvale Sugar Factory, signaling their intentions to work closely together.

Back in 2019, the two sides were involved in a public spat following the decision by the BAMC to retrench several of its workers, including then president of SISA Edwin O’Neal.

And earlier this year, SISA president Dwight Miller threatened to take strike action over delayed pay negotiations by the state-run BAMC.

However, Chief Executive Officer of the BAMC Orlando Atherley said the two sides had since been able to reach a compromise on several issues.

He said the last collective bargaining agreement between the two sides had been signed 12 years ago.

“For us this is another important milestone as we move forward certainly with the industry transitioning as you would have heard the minister at some time reference. For us in management we’ve always believed that stakeholder relationships are key to the success of any organisation as we move forward and therefore we thought it necessary that we try to cement stakeholder relationship within the collective bargaining agreements that we want to have concluded.

“This morning certainly I know that these agreements themselves lend to good, stable working relationships with labour and it lends themselves to structures that allow us to resolve issues that we know historically has affected the industry as we come closer to the crop,” Atherley said.

Miller said although discussions had been “robust” he was relieved both sides had been able to find a middle ground.

“Indeed it has been over 12 years and to my mind today marks a great milestone that we can once again come and sign off on an agreement even though we would have had robust discussions on the various points.

“It’s good to have these documents in place so that we can always refer to them from a historical point of view and in terms of resolution of issues. But it is also good that there is a sense of security and relief from the labour point of view that there is a working document in place that we have to work with and there is not a haphazard nature to which we come to agreements and then we have to go back on things and check back, but that things are now documented and they have been brought up to date, Miller said.

“I. . . really think that this agreement to my mind speaks to the spirit of compromise between labour and management. I think definitely that to my mind that is what the agreement speaks to, a spirit of compromise where both of us have had to compromise on issues but we have respected each other’s positions in terms of coming to an agreement.”

Veteran trade unionist Cedric Murrell who acted as SISA’s industrial relations advisor said the agreement “creates a climate for parties to work together.”

He acknowledged that agreements had not been reached on all matters as discussions were still ongoing regarding paternity and retirement leave. (RB)