Just weeks before the March start of the sugar crop, trade union boss Caswell Franklyn is threatening industrial action if his Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) is not recognised as the bargaining agent for the workers.
Franklyn, the general secretary of the UWU, told the media yesterday at a press conference at the union’s Belleville, St Michael headquarters that he had written to the chief executive officer of the Barbados Energy and Sugar Company at Portvale Sugar Factory on January 16, instructing him that there could be disruption to the start of the crop.
Franklyn explained that he had written management last year indicating that the UWU had recruited 55 members of their weekly paid staff.
“They have 83 or 84 staff. The normal convention is that if you have 50 per cent plus one, you get recognised. But, BESCO refused to deal with us. And they promptly called the other union, who did not have a single member there at the time, not one, to negotiate with them; to talk with the staff. They even held a staff meeting and invited that union to come and persuade the members to stay with, not to stay, but to go back with them.”
He said the workers were adamant that they would not join that union as he stated “because the representation for the sugar industry over the years has been horrible”.
‘Poor representation’ Franklyn added that it was the workers who approached him.
“The workers were a bit tired of this poor representation. They approached me. Having done that, I sent a letter dated the 26th of July, 2025, seeking recognition. I actually sent it on the 26th of July because that has some significance as the day Unity Workers’ Union was registered.”
Reading from the letter, Franklyn wrote: “To date we have not received the courtesy of a response.”
He further noted: “We have recently met with your staff, who are our members, and they have authorised us to institute industrial action if your company fails to recognise Unity Workers’ Union as the bargaining agent . . . . Please note that the workers have instructed the union to institute the action on or after January 31, 2026. By that time, we are hopeful that the matter of recognition can be settled and negotiations on a collective agreement can start.”
He concluded by stating that the union had no “desire to disrupt the crop but we are unwilling to start another season with workers suffering the abuse that continues to be meted out to them. A word to the wise is enough”.
Franklyn told the Sunday Sun that he would now wait until after the General Election on Fabruary 11 before he makes a move.
“I didn’t want it to look as though this is a political thing to attack the Government or anything like that. So we’ve decided to postpone our actions until after the elections but if we do not hear from management, there will be no crop.” (MB)
