If the last few months of 2011 are a predictor of the future, then 2012 could be a very rocky year in the relations between unionized workers and their employers in both government and the private sector.
Shortly after assuming office in July 2008, the National Democratic Congress administration revived a tripartite committee that comprised government, private sector and trade union representatives. That committee was to look at ways in which all sides can work together and make recommendations that would assist Grenada in dealing with the effects on the country of the global economic and financial crisis.
There has been virtual silence on what, if any, progress that has been made by the committee. It is no secret, however, that the labour delegation has been frustrated by what it believes is the unwillingness to accept recommendations that are designed to help workers hard-pressed by the economic climate.
From time to time, in public utterances far away for the tripartite discussions, labour leaders have expressed concerns about things such as the lack of any major job-creation project, cost of living and transportation costs on school children.
Whether unions’ patience has run thin or whether it’s just all a coincidence, the last few months have seen an upsurge in union activism. Unions are not just talking the talk; they’re acting. Here is a few recent noteworthy union action.
At the height of the celebration of carnival – Grenada’s largest and most lucrative national festival – LIAT workers at Maurice Bishop International Airport were called out on strike by their bargaining unit, the Technical and Allied Workers Union (TAWU).
Then, the Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT) announced that they were fed up that there was no government response on opening negotiations on new contracts for educators. The GUT urged teachers to engage in protest action, including wearing union T-shirts. Government responded to the GUT and talks were scheduled to begin between the two sides.
Christmas was upon us and individuals and companies customarily receive tons of items through the St. George’s Port during the holiday season. But lo and behold, industrial action was taken in a pay dispute between workers and the Grenada Ports’ Authority.
The embers of the port dispute were still smouldering when the Minister of Labour was asked to intervene to bring an end to a strike by TAWU-led workers at the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT).
Since 2009, TAWU and RBTT have been unable to sign off on a new collective agreement for workers at the bank.
Then there is the labour dispute at the Grenada Breweries Limited (GBL) still ongoing between the GBL and it's workers, through the bargaining of TAWU.
Strike and protest action by workers have a debilitating effect on an employer’s bottom-line and on revenue collected by the state. One doesn’t have to be an economist or an accountant to calculate that revenue lost from the protests highlighted here – and those not reported in this writing – runs into millions of dollar. Worker on strike lose revenue and so do their employers and others inconvenienced by employees being off their jobs.
While one will hope for an improved industrial climate in 2012, the reality is that the situation could worsen. Deeper restlessness could set in if more Grenadians do not find employment or employers are forced to implement retrenchment as a means of remaining competitive and surviving.
Compromise would need to be struck as salary negotiations are held, including those between government and the Public Workers Union. Workers may well be deserving of salary increases. But increased salaries do not exist in a vacuum; they are tied to something – including productivity, the national debt and the vagaries of the international financial and economic markets.
Grenada could ill afford more and deeper strikes that could precipitate the plunging of the country into tougher times. There needs to be genuine tripartite discussions and willingness by all – government, private sector and unions – to give and take. Compromise ought to prevail.
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