BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jul 4 2015 – The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) says it will call out its members on strike from Monday after the state-owned Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) failed to retract dismissal letters sent to workers over the age of 60.
The NUPW is seeking to force BIDC to either reinstate or fully compensate 10 employees, over age 60, who were recently sent into retirement.
The union is also demanding an apology from the Corporation for not consulting with it before issuing the letters of retirement to the workers who have not yet reached the statutory age of 67.
However, the state entity has rejected all three demands, contending that its decision to retire the workers was well grounded in law.
But the NUPW is getting support for its cause from other trade unions here, including the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) and the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU).
The BWU said its executive council will meet in emergency session on Sunday to discuss, among other things, the extent to which it will give support to the NUPW, but has already called on all public servants to participate in a street protest on Monday.
BWU General Secretary Toni Moore said her union recognises that “injury to one is injury to all” and the BWU has described the BIDC’s action as forced retirement saying the industrial action could have been avoided if there was evidence of respect, commitment to the rules, and to open consultations towards agreement by the BIDC.
“The executive council of the BWU therefore reaffirms its support for the NUPW in this matter and expects that we should be able to work out the details of our support with the NUPW in short time.
The BSTU has also instructed its members to join in next week’s mass protest.
President Mary Redman said her union supports the NUPW in its principled stand against the recent actions of the BIDC, actions, which, she said, infringed the rights of the “forcibly” retired members of that organisation.
