Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday chastised the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) for making public demands on him to fire Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) Chairman Leslie Miller, charging that he does not do business that way. Christie said the union has yet to give him compelling reasons why the chairman ought to be dismissed. "I don't care how much they are disturbed by (Miller's) decision-making; at the very least I expect them to be able to seek counsel with me as to why they think certain things should take place, but not to make public demands of me," Christie told reporters yesterday at the Caribbean Growth Forum at SuperClubs Breezes.
"When you make public demands you ought to know what will take place in that regard. They have the right to demonstrate. I trust that they are doing things legally." Christie's comments came as more than 150 workers marched to Breezes to confront him around 11 a.m. The BEWU workers demonstrated for a third day. BEWU President Stephano Greene said the union has reached its breaking point. He said the only way to resolve the issues is to speak directly to Christie. After giving his keynote address at the forum, Christie walked outside to meet with the protestors.
He promised to meet officially with them at his office later in the day. However, he said he would not meet with the union if it was not prepared to conduct itself accordingly. "You don't want to speak to me with a gun to my head because it wouldn't be fair to me...This is the first time that you came to me, so let's do things accordingly," Christie said. Greene said the meeting went well. "We got some commitments from the prime minister and we're hoping for the best," he said without going into details. Workers have been going head to head with Miller for several months now over issues regarding a new shift system and overtime pay.
But Greene said the firing of BEC employee Melinda Cunningham and the suspension of BEWU chief shop steward Michael Edgecombe prompted the union to intensify its industrial action. The workers have made several calls for Christie to immediately dismiss Miller. However, Christie said that decision is not his to make alone. "So with respect to their demand to dismiss the chairman, that is an executive decision made by the Cabinet of The Bahamas, and I don't know that they made representations to the deputy prime minister... But most certainly, you must not demand that of me in a public setting," Christie said.
Greene told reporters after his meeting with Christie that he would instruct union members to return to work. However, the morning's protest was in violation of Minister of Labour Shane Gibson's order for workers to return to work. The order came after he filed a trade dispute with the Industrial Tribunal. He said a meeting between the union and BEC executives late Wednesday yielded no resolution. "The government is committed to ensuring that members of the public and customers of BEC receive efficient service from the corporation," Gibson said in a statement on Wednesday. "Further, the government is prepared to work with all stakeholders including the BEWU to ensure that industrial harmony is the order of the day."
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