Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 16, 2010 News
Chairman of Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, has blasted the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) following a picketing exercise by the entities outside of the Kingston hotel on Tuesday which he described as trespassing and clear intimidation.
Badal, in a press release yesterday, said that CCWU has no legitimacy as far as the Pegasus Hotel and its employees are concerned.
FITUG, an umbrella trade union body, is lending support to CCWU which over the past months claimed that since the new owners, under Badal, took control, there has been moves to kick it out.
However, the Chairman, in harsh words, urged FITUG to concentrate on other “burning issues” that are plaguing Guyana and need attention.
According to Badal, who is out of the country, he learnt that FITUG and CCWU, citing union-busting measures, entered the lobby of the Pegasus to picket what was essentially the withdrawal by employees of the hotel of their membership of CCWU.
“Currently, the CCWU has no legitimacy as far as the Pegasus Hotel and its employees are concerned, as all its former members resigned months ago in protest to the ineffectiveness of the union in representing their interest over the years.”
Pegasus Hotel claimed that consequently, staff of the hotel requested the Trade Union Recognition Board to de-recognise CCWU as their collective bargaining agent.
“At no time have I influenced or provided any stimulus for anyone to withdraw their membership.
Employees acted on their own free will. No staff of the hotel was involved in the protest.”
Badal pointed out that despite CCWU being the recognized union of the hotel since 1981, many employees were still earning as low as $40,000 per month when the new owners took over.
“No investment was made by the former owners on improving the property and facilities in the last five years.
There was no pension scheme. Today staff of the Hotel enjoys highly increased benefits, are highly motivated and excited around a new vision to transform Pegasus into a true 5-Star hotel with a US$8M investment.”
The hotel’s Chairman said that he viewed the protest action by FITUG members on Tuesday as “tantamount to trespass and intimidation.”
The public promise of a CCWU official recently to “target every guest” of the Pegasus “is plain undisguised terrorism,” Badal said.
“A report of such action has been made to the police against leaders of the unions comprising FITUG and their affiliates, and we sincerely hope that with due warnings by the police, CCWU and other members of FITUG would desist from such lawlessness.”
Badal was even more harsh on FITUG.
“There are a multitude of burning issues in our country today which FITUG and its affiliates should be protesting but chose to remain silent. Among these are low public sector wages, rising crime, corruption and misuse of public resources, and the resulting poverty these create, impacting on the interest on their membership and on all Guyanese.”
The businessman warned that “workers comprising the unions’ membership will constantly re-evaluate their usefulness and effectiveness as the employees of Pegasus did. I trust that I have clarified this issue sufficiently and sincerely hope that this is the end of it.”
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
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