WIOC Negotiations Begin Today

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Thursday, 28 June 2012 02:30

By Everton Barnes

Antigua St John's - The first round of negotiations between the Antigua Trades & Labour Union and the West Indies Oil Company is scheduled to start today.

AT&LU Industrial Relations Officer Ralph Potter said the negotiations are the first such formal discussions to take place between the union and the company after the union took over as bargaining agent for the workers in March this year.

Potter said the two main items on the union wants addressed are salary increases for the 80-odd workers in the bargaining unit as well as issues related to the pension plan in place for the workers.

The AT&LU replaced the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union as bargaining agent for the workers at WIOC after the voted to make the switch.

Meanwhile, in a related development, another meeting is slated for Friday between senior management and staff of the marketing department that seeks to resolve outstanding issues that led to industrial action last week.

Last Thursday and Friday, staff from the department reported sick, and while both the staff and their union have tried not to associate the move asan industrial action, it did have the effect of bringing management to the bargaining table, a feat they were unable to achieve after years of attempts.

Head of the marketing department, Eustace Nicholas, said the management team met on Wednesday to come up with a number of recommendations and proposals to be presented to the workers at the meeting on Friday. He said the workers are also expected to present their own proposals as both sides seek to reach a compromise.

Nicholas is hopeful that the outstanding matters relating to the classification system that has been a bone of contention with the staff will be resolved at the meeting.

The sick-out brought operations at the department to a standstill and in the process it severely affected the delivery of LPG cylinders, which are critical to homeowners across the country.

Nicholas said the situation has now returned to normal after the 15-member staff unit returned to their duties on Monday.

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