First published in The Tribune on Friday, August 15, 2008, under the byline, Young Man's View.
THE Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union’s (BCPOU) irresponsible, thuggish tactics earlier in the week held the public hostage with their obstruction of major thoroughfares and virtually paralyzed our main tourist corridors and hindered our already less than adequate communication system.
Gone are the days of Sir Randol Fawkes as today’s labour leaders behave like "prima donnas", intent on using militaristic tactics to push their political agendas and the avariciousness of their sometimes rapacious unions on Bahamian taxpayers.
On Monday and Tuesday, the BCPOU inconvenienced thousands—both locals and tourists—as they (union) boorishly brought traffic to a standstill on Bay Street and at Port Lucaya (Grand Bahama).
By blocking these prominent roadways with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) vehicles—owned by the taxpayers—BTC employees/union selfishly obstructed both natives and visitors on their journeys, disrupted businesses, caused far-reaching financial losses and impeded those persons attempting to visit prominent tourist locales.
I am unsympathetic to the union members—some of whom were allegedly in a drunken stupor—and their asinine actions that exceeded any acceptable level of civil disobedience, led to the closure of BTC’s offices and interrupted installations and much-needed repairs.
BTC’s workers flagrantly used BTC’s vehicles, which were bought and are maintained by taxpayers’ dollars, to orchestrate an illegal strike and violate countless traffic laws while telling tall tales about the vehicles having mechanical problems. During their impetuous show of force, these workers showed no concern for storekeepers, delivery men/messengers, surrey drivers and public transportation drivers such as that taxi driver/church pastor (Pastor Rolle) who begged them to move their vehicles as he had a fare. He cries fell on deaf ears. Like the BTC strikers, doesn’t this man and his family also deserve to make a living?
According to their leader, Robert Farquharson, the union had not been invited to sit on BTC’s privatisation/negotiation committee and was unsatisfied with its status on another committee—the Privatisation Advisory Committee.
Recently, Mr Farquharson has vigorously asserted that his members have a role in negotiating BTC’s sale and therefore, their representatives must be invited to be a part of the negotiating committee. This is utter nonsense!
When did it become mandatory for the owners of an enterprise to invite employees to participate in their sales negotiation process? Does the BCPOU have any financial capital invested in BTC?
A month ago, Mr Farquharson pledged to call upon other unions to march with him if his demands were not met and, in what appears to be an attempt to raise his profile and dictate to the government, led his union in a most egregious strike where they behaved like spoilt brats in front of their fellow countrymen and the world.
On one of the news programmes, National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest appeared to be embarrassingly incompetent as he pleaded with the union leader to direct his members to remove their vehicles and, when Mr Farquharson in his “biggety” manner refused and told him the ‘mechanical difficulties tale’, the minister gave up and dejectedly stumped off. For me, this was further proof of the saying that leaders are born rather than made, particularly as Mr Turnquest chose to walk away with his tail between his legs instead of ordering the police, and even the Defence Force, to arrest the perpetrators of these illegal activities—particularly the head honchos—and summon wreckers to remove the vehicles that blockaded Bay Street. Furthermore, in the instance that union members became riotous, Mr Turnquest should have called upon the police force’s riot squad to subdue any insurrection. The image of Mr Turnquest begging Mr Farquharson to leave Bay Street was nothing short of pathetic and deepened the perception of many people that he’s weak and unfit for leadership.
Moreover, Mr Farquharson—while being theatrical and seemingly seeking glorification—even challenged police officers to arrest him, but instead of doing so, they all stood around, wide-eyed and apparently confounded.
Honestly, is Mr Farquharson being influenced for political gain and/or having his strings pulled by political puppeteers? Would the union have taken responsibility if there had been a medical emergency and an ambulance was attempting to navigate Bay Street, but was impeded and therefore the patient died?
What were these workers hoping to accomplish by going to the foot of the bridge and blocking it off? Was it to stupidly disrupt and sabotage our tourist industry? Is it mere coincidence that the union leader chose to initiate such action immediately after PM Ingraham left town on vacation?
Isn’t this the union that allegedly used extreme tactics and threw peanuts and beer on PM Ingraham a few years ago when they felt their demands weren’t being met? And, where is Acting Prime Minister Brent Symonette, who has been awkwardly silent throughout this maniacal situation?
The union’s actions amplifies the need for hiring and training temporary workers (temps) to replace workers when they decide to participate in illegal strikes. In 1981, former US president the late Ronald Reagan fired 11,500 striking air traffic controllers, and began hiring and training replacements after they conducted an illegal strike.
Of course, this led to the largest labour protest in US history as some 400,000 persons marched on Washington, DC. However, the point was still made. In the Bahamas, the hiring of “temps” and firing of workers based on poor performance evaluations or disobedience of labour laws would unquestionably send a clear message to unions and discourage wild cat strikes.
All BTC workers who obstructed traffic and improperly used the company’s vehicles/fuel should be ticketed for unauthorized parking and disorderly conduct, pay fines and have monies deducted from their salaries for unlawfully breaking their contracts of employment.
BTC is currently over-saturated with employees, used as a cesspool for political cronies and notorious for its third-rate, inexcusable service. Although they earn excessive salaries, complemented by a top-notch insurance package, many BTC workers always seem to be on “go slow.”
Anyone visiting the cell phone section at their Mall-at-Marathon offices after 2 or 3pm would be forced to wait for an hour or two, as only one or two customer service representatives are working since everyone else has simultaneously left for lunch—code language for “they have already gone home.”
Like BEC, a culture of slackness seemingly pervades BTC and the only reason the company is profitable is because it rebounds off of consumers, who do not have options, due to its monopolistic status.
BTC’s privatization is long overdue, dating as far back as the FNM’s first term in office when thousands of dollars had been handed out in severance packages to workers—some of whom I was told by a sitting MP have been rehired.
The court order, which was handed down this week and prohibits further industrial/strike action against BTC pending a trial of recent actions, can only continue BTC’s march towards privatization. A firm response—to the fullest extent of the law—must be meted out against the union leaders and those BTC employees who have negatively impacted so many people.
The privatization of BTC should foster competition, which would undoubtedly lead to enhanced, cost-effective services—inclusive of improved cell phone service/reception, faster response to technical concerns, better internet service and polite customer service where the customer is treated courteously.
The government should re-think its reported plan to permit the company set to purchase BTC to have a three year exclusivity period (another monopoly) as the Bahamas’ lone, authorized cell phone provider since it could further disadvantage Bahamians as we still would not be able to choose our provider even under a privatised regime.
The union is well aware of the possibility of a downsizing exercise in preparation for privatization. Mr Farquharson should know that his role in the negotiation process will only become more relevant after BTC’s sale, particularly when a buyer seeks to reform the company.
Privatization will free-up monies for government services, improve their efficiency, foster competition and lead to a general sense of dependability and satisfaction among customers. The government/negotiating committee must move ahead with the privatization of BTC and artfully circumvent the bleating of Mr Farquharson and his union.
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