Threatened strike action by the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) at the Barbados Community College is now off.
Dennis Clarke, the general secretary of the NUPW, made the disclosure this afternoon following reports that the management of the BCC had scheduled a meeting with the union for Wednesday morning at the Howell’s Cross Road institution.
Yesterday, during a 90-minute meeting with approximately 100 workers in the auditorium at the college, Clarke threatened to call out the workers if a meeting with management did not materialise by Monday.
At the meeting, Clarke told the workers that he was quite willing to meet with management on Saturday or even miss his usual Sunday worship to meet with management to address the concerns of the workers.
In spite of the BCC’s denials, the union boss charged that management at the educational institution was “cherry picking” some workers for retrenchment.
Clarke also took issue with management’s decision to offer contracts of service to workers who had formerly been employed under different contractual arrangements.
Responding to the spirited defence of their interests by Clarke, several workers expressed frustration over the breakdown in industrial relations at the institution, while pointing out that many of them had been asked to work 18 hours a week and to preside over classes with as many students as 40 to 46 per class.
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