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NWU, BITU want to represent CAL workers
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
UNIONS that lost ties with Air Jamaica workers following last week's transition of the national carrier to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines are seeking to get a foot in the door to represent the newly hired employees.
Yesterday, president of the National Workers Union Vincent Morrison said his union along with the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) are awaiting the scheduling of a meeting with the management of Caribbean Airlines.
"Out of a meeting we had with [finance] Minister [Audley] Shaw last Wednesday he undertook to arrange some dialogue between ourselves and the new owners whereby we will be talking to them about union representation for those workers," Morrison said.
Morrison, who was addressing the weekly Observer Monday Exchange of reporters and editors at the newspaper's head office in Kingston, explained that unions are permitted to represent the workers either by consent or through a poll.
"So we can write to management and they can grant us consent or we may have to take the longer route in terms of having a poll," he said.
Consent, he explained further, can be given within a week to a month. However, a poll could take much longer.
"So as we speak, both unions -- the NWU and the BITU -- have started doing some work on the ground," Morrison said. "If we can get this meeting with Caribbean Airlines in another week or two, then we could have a clearer position."
Morrison said although the workers have only been given short-term contracts of six months under the new management, this will not have any impact on the union's ability to represent them.
"The duration of the contract should not be a problem, what is going to be important is for the workers to get together and decide what they want to do," he said.
Meanwhile, the NWU boss said he has requested an investigation into why none of the union delegates were among the workers offered employment with Caribbean Airlines.
He also raised concerns as to why Air Jamaica workers did not receive any notice of termination prior to last Friday's redundancy exercise. He noted further that a number of other procedures were not observed under the labour code which sets out what must be done as it relates to redundancies.
Among the procedures ignored, Morrison said, was giving the workers a print-out of the benefits they are entitled to, at least two weeks before to allow them time to question any discrepancies. "That did not happen, and all we are saying is how could that happen for a company as important and high-profile as Air Jamaica," he questioned.
Redundancy, he added, is a very traumatic exercise and requires unions and management to work together to make it less traumatic.
Morrison argued that the NWU was not able to meet with Air Jamaica workers prior to the exercise as the union was not privy to information to pass on to them.
The NWU head was, however, very optimistic that some of the problems experienced in the past should not reoccur under this new management. Pointing out that Trinidad has a very strong union movement and that Caribbean Airlines workers were already unionised, Morrison said he does not foresee any issues with this new management.
"I would believe that in going forward we would have to look back a bit to see what were the mistakes and errors in terms of labour relations and see how we can correct those moving forward," he said.
Morrison also noted that there are still some unanswered questions, among them the issue of what will happen to workers who were contracted to companies that offered support services to Air Jamaica.
"There are a number of companies which have been contracted to Air Jamaica, for example Air Lift Handlers employ over 100 workers and we don't know what is going to be the fate of those workers," he said.
In the meantime, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association Wayne Jones, who was also a guest at the Monday Exchange, said the co-operation, partnership and dialogue between both unions must be emphasised. It is this, he argued, that had allowed both unions to co-exist in Air Jamaica and that has seen them working together again in this new establishment.
"Any one union could have decided that they wanted to go in and take over, but they have decided that they still want to co-operate and try to work together," he said.
NWU, BITU want to represent CAL workers
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
UNIONS that lost ties with Air Jamaica workers following last week's transition of the national carrier to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines are seeking to get a foot in the door to represent the newly hired employees.
Yesterday, president of the National Workers Union Vincent Morrison said his union along with the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) are awaiting the scheduling of a meeting with the management of Caribbean Airlines.
"Out of a meeting we had with [finance] Minister [Audley] Shaw last Wednesday he undertook to arrange some dialogue between ourselves and the new owners whereby we will be talking to them about union representation for those workers," Morrison said.
Morrison, who was addressing the weekly Observer Monday Exchange of reporters and editors at the newspaper's head office in Kingston, explained that unions are permitted to represent the workers either by consent or through a poll.
"So we can write to management and they can grant us consent or we may have to take the longer route in terms of having a poll," he said.
Consent, he explained further, can be given within a week to a month. However, a poll could take much longer.
"So as we speak, both unions -- the NWU and the BITU -- have started doing some work on the ground," Morrison said. "If we can get this meeting with Caribbean Airlines in another week or two, then we could have a clearer position."
Morrison said although the workers have only been given short-term contracts of six months under the new management, this will not have any impact on the union's ability to represent them.
"The duration of the contract should not be a problem, what is going to be important is for the workers to get together and decide what they want to do," he said.
Meanwhile, the NWU boss said he has requested an investigation into why none of the union delegates were among the workers offered employment with Caribbean Airlines.
He also raised concerns as to why Air Jamaica workers did not receive any notice of termination prior to last Friday's redundancy exercise. He noted further that a number of other procedures were not observed under the labour code which sets out what must be done as it relates to redundancies.
Among the procedures ignored, Morrison said, was giving the workers a print-out of the benefits they are entitled to, at least two weeks before to allow them time to question any discrepancies. "That did not happen, and all we are saying is how could that happen for a company as important and high-profile as Air Jamaica," he questioned.
Redundancy, he added, is a very traumatic exercise and requires unions and management to work together to make it less traumatic.
Morrison argued that the NWU was not able to meet with Air Jamaica workers prior to the exercise as the union was not privy to information to pass on to them.
The NWU head was, however, very optimistic that some of the problems experienced in the past should not reoccur under this new management. Pointing out that Trinidad has a very strong union movement and that Caribbean Airlines workers were already unionised, Morrison said he does not foresee any issues with this new management.
"I would believe that in going forward we would have to look back a bit to see what were the mistakes and errors in terms of labour relations and see how we can correct those moving forward," he said.
Morrison also noted that there are still some unanswered questions, among them the issue of what will happen to workers who were contracted to companies that offered support services to Air Jamaica.
"There are a number of companies which have been contracted to Air Jamaica, for example Air Lift Handlers employ over 100 workers and we don't know what is going to be the fate of those workers," he said.
In the meantime, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association Wayne Jones, who was also a guest at the Monday Exchange, said the co-operation, partnership and dialogue between both unions must be emphasised. It is this, he argued, that had allowed both unions to co-exist in Air Jamaica and that has seen them working together again in this new establishment.
"Any one union could have decided that they wanted to go in and take over, but they have decided that they still want to co-operate and try to work together," he said.