workers voice volume 6

7/31/2019 Workers Voice Volume 6

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Pg. 2

Pg. 3


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V O L U M E 6 P A G E 2

The Airport, Airline and Allied Workers Union (AAAWU) held its election of offi-cers on July 15, 2012. Ms. Nelerene Harding was returned as president and is

committed to repairing and restoring the damage resulting from years of internalstrife and court battles.

Her goals for this term in office include the following:

The completion of the Industrial Agreements for Bahamasair Holdings Limitedand Nassau Flight Services.

To secure affordable dependent insurance coverage.

To better serve the members by addressing the deficiencies in their wages

and working conditions.

To maintain the relationships with the affiliates of the NCTUB

In addition to Ms. Harding, the executive team includes:

Mr. Robert Pickstock Vice President

Ms. Vernell Albury Secretary GeneralMs. Esther Clarke TreasurerMs. Patricia Rahming TrusteeMs. Janet Rolle Trustee

Ms. Melanie Rolle Trustee

Ms. Cora Bowe Branch ChairmanMr. Christopher Moss Branch Secretary

AAAWU

Labour Day

Parade 2012

PresidentNelerene Harding


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The members of Bahamas Com-munication and Public OfficersUnion (BCPOU) returned Mr.Bernard Evans as President fol-lowing elections held 17th July,2012. It was however notedthat voter turnout was very lowand membership over the yearshas declined. This Following

downsizing at the BroadcastCorporation of the Bahamas(BCB) and the Bahamas Tele-communications Corporation(BTC). Mr. Evans stated that hewas confident of a successfuloutcome. The executive teamincludes:

Bernard Evans President

Edley Swain Vice President

Dino Rolle General Secretary

Sherry Benjamin Assistant Secretary General

Ulric Mortimer Treasurer

Dayvette Bain Assistant Treasurer

Sharzad Pickstock Trustee

Hilbert Collie Trustee

Martin Clarke Trustee

Clint Watson Area Vice President - ZNS - Nassau

Brando F. Stewart Area Vice President ZNS - Freeport

Garvin Simmons Area Vive President Exuma - South East Bahamas

Javotte Cooper Area Vice President - Freeport

Tina Cooper Area Vice President - Andros

Dorothea S. Bethel Area Vice President - Eleuthera

Terah Swain Area Vice President - Abac0

Photos

Kyle Smith/

TNG


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Thursday July 5, 2012, the Executive officers of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union(BEWU) paid a courtesy call on the Hon. D. Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour and Na-tional Insurance. Matters discussed included:

40 hours work week New pay scales The privatization of the Bahamas Electrical Corporation (BEC) A fulltime union officer Direction of BEC Operations at BEC Exuma Terminated Employees

The Union was well received by the Minister and Director of Labour Mr. HarcourtBrown, and the discussion was very fruitful.

Information and photo sub-

mitted by Mr. Stephano

Greene, President BEWU


5/11


A war of words is beingwaged in the Bahamas aboutgambling but, this is not anew argument. In the 60s asimilar war was being wagedover casino gambling. Thestory is an intriguing onewith the wealthy and power-

ful seeking to influence thepolitical system and theChurch mounting a vigorousargument against gambling.Today, the dynamics are simi-lar, but this time the issue willbe put to a referendum forthe Bahamian people to de-cide.

To better understand the his-

tory of gambling in the Baha-mas, and to gain some per-spective, I encourage you toread the excerpts from theFaith That Moved The Moun-tain. Compare WallaceGroves and his cohorts withtodays politicians, or theChristian Council of yester-year with the Christian Coun-cil today.


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In 1937 it was illegal under the Pe-

nal Code to operate a lottery or tokeep a gaming house on howeversmall a scale. In spite of this illegal-ity, Mr. Louis Wasey and the Baha-mian Club operated small casinos inCat Cay and in Nassau. In order tolegalize these two operations, Sandsdrafted the now famous amend-ment to Section 257 (10) of the Pe-nal Code that authorized the Gover-

nor-in-Council to issue licences tothose two casinos and any otherpersons they thought fit andproper.

On November 14, 1945, the Hon-ourable Stafford Lofthouse Sands, atthe age of thirty-two, accepted ap-pointments to be on the Governor'sExecutive Council and to be Leaderof Government Business in theHouse of Assembly. Three months

after these appointments, he applied for a complete monopoly on casino gambling onbehalf of a syndicate of which he and C. Trevor Kelly were members. Upon the Gover-nor's Council's rejection of his application, Sands resigned from the Governor's Execu-tive Council and as Leader of the House.

On February 28, 1959, Sands again applied for another casino licence - this time on be-half of the Earls of Dudley and Sefton and Viscount Camrose. His application was againrefused.

Harping on the same string, on March 20, 1963, Sands applied to the Government onbehalf of his client, the Bahamas Amusements Limited, to operate casinos in hotels inGrand Bahama. This licence was granted on April 1, 1963 and was to remain in forcefor a period of ten years. From the continued refusals of Sands' applications made be-fore 1963, one may conclude that the general attitude of the Bahamas Government upto that point was to discourage gambling. How then did Stafford Sands succeed inobtaining this licence for the Grand Bahama Amusements Limited?

Cover photograph for Life Magazine

which was scheduled for publication

but was withdrawn upon the request

of local politicians.

Continued on

next pg.


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The answer could be found in one of the coolest, shrewdest and most calculating ofSands' clients: Wallace Groves. He offered a variety of advantages to the people's

elected representatives in exchange for information. Thus within a few days after April1, 1963, three of the six unofficial members of the Governor's Executive Council andtwo of the United Bahamian Party's members of the House of Assembly entered intoagreements with Grand Bahama Development Corporation, the company which fi-nanced the casino operation. The agreement provided for the regular payment ofmonies to the members for "consultant services." For his representation of the gam-bling interest, Stafford L. Sands, the elected representative for the City of Nassau, re-ceived a fee in excess of one half a million dollars.

To complete the picture, a fifth member of the Executive Council, the HonourableEtienne Dupuch, Q.C., and Senior Partner in the Law Firm of Messrs. Dupuch and Turn-quest, received, as early as 1962, a sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000:00) from theGrand Bahama Port Authority, the company in which Wallace Groves played the domi-nant role during its promotion of gambling in The Bahamas.

Hon. Eugene A.P. Dupuch

received $10,000

Sir Stafford Sands

over half million.

Premier R.T. Symonette consul-

tancy

Continued from pg. 6

Exerpt from Faith that Moved the Mountain by Sir Randol Fawkes Special thanks to the Fawkes familyContinue reading on www.sirrandolfawkes.com


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Marion Stuart was a member of The Bahamas Federation of Labour in the1950s and 60s and gave considerable support to Sir Randol Fawkes duringthe Sedition Trial in 1959 and wholeheartedly participated in all of the ac-tivities pertaining to the trade union movement. A tall, slim woman whohad tremendous zeal and passion, she was given free reign by Sir Randolto speak at the meetings held at Windsor Park. As one approached WindsorPark, her voice could be heard booming over the microphone. She had tre-mendous courage; made full use of the Bahamian vernacular and dialectand had no fear of openly excoriating and castigating the powers that be.

"Marry" as she was affectionately called by the Fawkes family will never beforgotten and will be remembered for her unswerving loyalty and dedica-tion to the cause.

Marion Stuart Infor mation andphoto submitted by

Ms. Rosalie Fawkes.


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THE EMPLOYMENT ACT 2001KEY POINTS

Sick and Vacation Leave

Employees are now entitled to one-week sick leave during a calendar (1) year withpay.

You are entitled to one-week vacation with pay, after six (6) months of continuous

employment.

After one year of continuous employment, you are entitled to two (2) weeks vacationwith pay.

After seven (7) years or more of continuous employment, you are entitled to three(3) weeks vacation with pay.

Your vacation pay should be paid to you at least one (1) day before you start yourvacation.

Should your employment be terminated before ninety days (3 months), of continu-ous work you are not entitled to any benefit from your employer.

It's our business to keep you informed.

Bahamas Department of LabourPublication.


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V O L U M E 6P A G E 1 0

ILO Turin Centre

http://www.itcilo.org/en

International Trade Union Confederationhttp://www.ituc-csi.org/rio-20.html

the ILO Workers' Relations Bureauhttp://www.ilo.org/actrav/lang--en/index.htm

Decent Work Country Programme, The Bahamas

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/program/dwcp/download/bahamas.pdf

ILO Caribbean

http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Regionsandcountries/LatinAmericaandCaribbean/lang--en/index.htm

Trade Union History, Bahamas

www.nctu-bahamas.orgwww.sirrandolfawkes.com
http://www.itcilo.org/enhttp://www.ituc-csi.org/rio-20.htmlhttp://www.ilo.org/actrav/lang--en/index.htmhttp://www.ilo.org/actrav/lang--en/index.htmhttp://www.ituc-csi.org/rio-20.htmlhttp://www.itcilo.org/en


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P A G E 1 1V O L U M E 6

Dear Friends,

We are very happy to have completed another addition of the newsletter for

the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas and we would like to thank

each and everyone one of you who took the time to make a contribution.

The name of the newsletter is The Workers Voice which was a name that SirRandol Fawkes gave to the Bahamas Federation of Labor's newspaper in

1959. This current newsletter gives to you, the worker, a voicea means to

communicate with your fellow brothers and sisters in the union. Additionally,

through the Workers Voice, you now have the opportunity of profiling yourunion and the work that you are doing.

It is our aim to introduce to you all of the affiliate unions attached to the

NCTU. In each edition, we also will bring you content that is historical in na-

ture. History informs us of the struggles that our forbears underwent and the

debt of appreciation that we owe them for the sacrifices made. The newsletter

will also enable us to document the history that is being made to day so that

future generations will be inspired by our efforts .

Finally would you like to be apart of this communications venture? Do you

have a story to tell, an opinion to share? Do you have English, photography,graphic arts design skills? If your answer is Yes then we would appreciate

hearing from you.

With thanks

Sheleta Collie

Chairman of the Public Relations Committee

National Congress of Trade Unions of The BahamasPh: 242-356-7459 Fax: 3242-56-7457E-mail: [email protected] Website: nctu-bahamas.org

workers voice volume 6

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