The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) appears to be heading on a collision course with the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) over a number of grievances by its members.
On Saturday, a number of aggrieved BADMC staffers met at the union’s Dalkeith, St Michael headquarters to vent on matters such as sick leave, working conditions and the disciplinary protocols of the state-owned corporation.
NUPW assistant general secretary Wayne Walrond charged the BADMC was trying to cut the sick leave days, adding there were to be 14 days a year for temporary workers and 21 for those appointed.
“While we acknowledge they are trying to make the corporation efficient and are making some efforts to generate revenue which we commend . . . they want to remove that and give them six sick days a year and that’s not the agreement with this union,” he said.
Another issue raised was the reported firing of security assistant Dexter Squires last week.
Squires told the DAILY NATION that after close to five years at the BADMC, he was axed unceremoniously. He is now seeking legal counsel.
The father of three said he was hastily ushered into a meeting on Tuesday and charged with being absent from duty without approval, failure to perform duties assigned, to observe the corporation’s regulations and the falsification of electronic records, according to the dismissal letter.
Squires said he had no prior warnings of the infractions.
“In almost five years at the BADMC, each time I leave the compound I would call my supervisor, and if I don’t get my supervisor I call my manager to say ‘I don’t feel well or I have to leave to do something important’,” the upset man said.
Walrond said the union would be pursuing an unfair dismissal claim.
BADMC chief executive officer Shawn Tudor said yesterday while he was aware of the meeting, he had no comment on the matter.
“I don’t have any comment to make on what Mr Walrond said in the newspaper. We run the corporation, that’s what we do. Their business is to do things with newspapers; my business is to manage the corporation in the best interest of all the relevant stakeholders,” he added. (TG)
