The National Workers Union (NWU) has written to Labour Commissioner Cornelia Jn Baptiste requesting her intervention in an industrial dispute between itself and the Management of Bank of Saint Lucia.
The NWU’s request to the Commissioner stated clearly that a Protocol Accord was agreed upon after two general meetings held in November 2020 between the Bank, the Union and the employees. These meetings were requested by the company to which the union responded positively.
During the meetings the bank took the opportunity to highlight its current economic situation and requested some economic sacrifices from workers to assist BOSL in its endeavours. After much discussion, the NWU made it clear that the bank’s request was accepted in principle but the workers could only accede on an individual basis. Bank of Saint Lucia then made it abundantly clear that job security was paramount and that workers would not be made redundant.
“Come January 2021 it was discovered that Bank of Saint Lucia Management engaged in some sneaky meetings with employees informing them that some staff will be made redundant. It was then clear to the Union that the company had unilaterally reneged on the industrial protocol,” stated a release from the NWU’s President General Tyrone Maynard.
He wrote that the NWU wrote to the bank requesting a six-month shelving period within which time the parties would monitor the economic situation of the bank with a request to make all other pertinent documents available to the NWU that would give the NWU the Bank’s reason for moving in such a hostile and anti-worker direction.
The NWU met with employees yesterday via zoom and plans to meet with the bank on Tuesday February 23, 2021.
The NWU says it and the workers will not accept an industrial COVID at this point because Saint Lucia is hurting enough.