Consequences of Industrial Actions

If the unions do indeed follow through on their threats of strikes and industrial actions during this holiday season, the potential damage to our economy can be devastating. Not only is tourism our number one industry, it is our major industry, accounting for more than 60% of our gross domestic product. Anything that negatively impacts our tourism industry will create a domino effect that will ripple throughout our entire economy.

If industrial action threats are followed through, visitors in The Bahamas who are adversely affected by work stoppages or power outages may decide never to return and advise their family and friends accordingly. In these days of global news services and instant Internet access, news of industrial actions in The Bahamas will spread quickly around the world. Persons intending to visit The Bahamas in the near future may decide to change their destination or cancel their trip entirely. The Bahamas is too high priced a destination to chance a stay that would be less than ideal.

It is recognized by economists that The Bahamas needs direct foreign investment in order to achieve sustained economic growth. Potential foreign investors who are now exploring various countries for their investments would naturally look at the industrial relations climate of the prospective host country. Based on the newspaper headlines of the last several months, one wonders how many potential investors have already crossed The Bahamas off their country list of likely candidates.

In this era of worldwide integration and trade liberalization it is acknowledged by both labour and business leaders that The Bahamas must become more competitive in the global arena. In order to achieve this goal a determined effort must be made to utilize the full potential of our human resources in order to increase our productivity, and thereby reduce our high operating costs.

With the acknowledgement that we need to become more competitive, it is surprising that the major bone of contention in enterprises facing industrial action threats is the level of automatic pay increases that are not tied to any productivity enhancements. In fact, in at least one case, the union objects to a provision of an industrial agreement that bases a form of payment on productivity, which is completely opposite of the mindset we (in the collective sense of the word) should be operating in these days.

To many Bahamians, the ones who are threatening industrial actions are seen as self-centered individuals who want more without doing more, with no regard to the potential hardship and financial losses their actions may cause others. It is not unheard of for companies to face bankruptcy, or entire industries to be decimated, as a result of labour demands. During the 1940's and early 1950's the demands of coal miners in the United States caused an escalation in the price of coal, which was the leading source of energy in the U.S. from 1885 through 1951. The fact that there were alternatives to high priced coal caused the coal mining industry to become severely depressed and allowed crude oil and natural gas to take over as the lead sources of energy until the early to mid 1980's when coal again became the lead energy source. It must be pointed out that coal regained its position largely due to increases in efficiency and productivity in the mining industry.

It must be remembered that like coal, there are alternatives to The Bahamas for both visitors and foreign investors. If industrial actions cause our economy to shrink, the effect will be felt by all Bahamians, employers and employees alike. It would be only natural that the reason for the reduced standard of living be abhorred, which may result in a negative backlash to the unions.

One of the offensive tactics used by labour is euphemistically called "sick-outs". These sick-outs are in fact the planned withdrawal of labour without a strike vote and usually without any warning to the effected enterprise. Many employers provide terms and conditions for sick leave and sick pay that far exceed the minimum requirements of the Employment Act. These are humanitarian policies designed to ensure continuity of employment and provide financial assistance to those who are legitimately sick. The blatant abuses of these policies indicate that more controls are needed. Workers who attend beach parties when they are absent from work due to "sickness" should not be paid, and in addition they should be subject to disciplinary measures.

Another offensive tactic used by labour is the "wildcat" strike. A wildcat strike is an illegal withdrawal of labour. A worker who participates in a wildcat strike effectively abandon's their job, or in other words, they terminate their contract of employment and quit working for their employer. Although many enterprises who experience wildcat strikes return their employees to work without loss of seniority, and in some cases go so far as to pay their employees for the time they were off work while on strike, they have no legal responsibility to do so. Employees involved in wildcat strikes, like any other employee who quits, can legally be denied the return of their job and are only entitled to payment for actual time worked plus their accrued vacation pay.

It was reported in the press that on the 4th of December a successful strike vote against the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association carried with only 17.5% of the bargaining unit of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union voting to strike. The fact that such a small minority of a bargaining unit can carry a strike vote, which can have devastating results to the effected enterprise and to the economy in general, requires close scrutiny. Serious consideration needs to be given to an amendment of the Industrial Relations Act that would require at least 50% plus one of a bargaining unit to carry a strike vote, or even a level of 60% of the bargaining unit, which is the percentage required for the inclusion of Agency Shop in an industrial agreement.

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