The Antigua Trades and Labour Union over the past week convened meetings with security officers at the Ministry of Works along with officials of the ministry to discuss several outstanding matters of concern to the workers.
AT&LU General Secretary, Alrick Daniel and a team from the union held two meetings last Thursday with the security officers when these issues were discussed in detail. Two separate meetings were held in order to accommodate the fact that workers work at different shifts.
“Some of the issues raised relate to conditions of employment and only the sole bargaining agent representing the workers is authorized by the Collective Bargaining Agreement to negotiate on behalf of the workers,” he explained.
He added that the workers expressed their confidence in the ability of the AT&LU to remain as the bargaining agent. Daniel said the meetings were well-attended and they provided an opportunity for the workers to speak openly on their major concerns in the presence of the ministry officials.
One of the things that the meetings were able to get assurances from the ministry officials was a commitment to add more security officers in addressing one of their top concerns; the fact that some officers are posted at remote places where they are required to work by themselves.
Daniel said the ministry gave a commitment to employ and additional 100 workers to work in the security department to tackle the shortage of officers.
Other issues included the relationship between some workers and their supervisors with the union explaining that respect is a two-way street; if workers demand respect, then they in turn must show respect to their supervisors. The issue of training was also central to the workers and an undertaking was given that the ministry will address this matter in a timely manner.
The workers were also concerned about the physical conditions of some of the work places, especially the condition of the toilet facilities. The ministry agreed to address these concerns immediately.
Recently, a rival trade union, the People’s Trade Union attempted to insert itself into the issue with the security officers. However, the ministry refused to meet with the union as it was not the recognized bargaining agent.
Daniel said two workers admitted to reaching out to the new union, but they have since reaffirmed their confidence in the AT&LU.
The union team included Assistant General Secretary, Avalyn Watley, as well as Industrial Officers, Jarmin Pryce-Miller, Terry Dyer and Lisa-Ann Yearwood. The PWD team was led by the Permanent Secretary Sean Cenac along with the heads of the Human Resources Unit and the Security Department.
