NATIONAL CONGRESSS OF TRADE UNION
“UNITING WORKERS VISION FOR A BETTER BAHAMAS”
P. O. Box GT-2887
Phone # (242) 356-7459/322-5478
Fax # (242) 356-7457
President– Patrick Bain Assistant General Secretary –
1st Vice President-John Pinder Treasurer – Linda Evans 2nd Vice President- Dennis Williams Assistant Treasurer – Nellarine Harding
3rd Vice President – Denise Wilson Trustee – Bernard Evans
4th Vice President – Sean Bowe Trustee – Jennifer Dotson General Secretary – Robert Farquharson Trustee – Ronnie Ambrister
NCTU Press Statement Prison Break
For Immediate Release
The National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) will like to express its outrage at the Mr. Franklyn Wilson and the Council of the College of the Bahamas in their refusal to sign and execute the recently completed industrial agreement.
Over the past twenty months, Executives of the Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas (UTEB) and the Executives of the College of the Bahamas (COB) has ‘in good faith’ negotiated a new industrial agreement for containing terms and conditions of employment for lecturers at COB. During the course of these discussions, Dr. Rhonda Chipman-Johnson, in her capacity of Lead Negotiator on behalf of COB, would have agreed and signed off on all of the new articles in the Agreement. In December 2005, the College’s Council gave authorization to make payments to members of UTEB in accordance with the provisions of the Contract and has also implemented the new insurance benefits in the Agreement.
The Executive Officers of UTEB, headed by President Jennifer Isaacs-Dotson has made numerous attempts to have the Chairman and the College’s Council to sign and register the new Industrial Agreement as outlined in Section 48 and 51 of the Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 321.
As lecturers have been working without an industrial agreement for over two years, Executives of UTEB have made representation to the Hon. D. Shane Gibson, Minister of Immigration, Labour & Training to intervene and ensure that the College of the Bahamas comply with the provisions of the IRA.
The NCTU is of the view that the refusal of Chairman Wilson to sign and register the negotiated industrial agreement is in violation of the Statute laws and an abuse of power.
The NCTU hereby call on Chairman Wilson and the members of the College’s Council to immediately schedule a date on or before April 13, 2006 whereby that the new industrial agreement can be signed and submitted for registration. The NCTU further call on the Minister of Education, the Hon. Alfred Sears to ensure that the Chairman and members of the College’s Council comply with the Statute Laws of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
There is no excuse why after, the Acting President of the College of the Bahamas has sat and negotiated ‘in good faith’ a new industrial agreement, signed off on all of the articles of the agreement and employees are paid some of the benefits as outlined in the agreement, that there is still delay in signing the proposed.
The NCTU hereby caution the Chairman and members of the Council as well as the Management Team of COB that if the agreement is not signed on or before April 134, 2006 the NCTU will call on their affiliates to take steps to bring pressure on the institution to ensure that the Rights of the members of UTEB continue to be violated.
We call on all members of the General Public as well as the members of the various affiliates of the NCTU to work with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the other Law Enforcements Agencies to ensure that the escape convict, Corey Hepburn, is returned to the confines of Her Majesty Prison.
April 3, 2006
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Pat Bain
President
National Congress of Trade Unions