The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) has sounded the alarm over what it claims is a disturbing pattern of power abuse by senior civil servants, threatening the ability of union leaders to perform their lawful duties.
At a press conference on Wednesday at the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) headquarters, CTUSAB General Secretary Dennis De Peiza charged that certain department heads are allegedly using their authority to obstruct trade union leaders and executives from carrying out their legitimate duties—a move he noted contravenes the Trade Union Act.
He explained: “What is of real importance to us is a problem that we are recognising as critical to be dealt with at this point. We are noticing a trend where heads of some departments in government are abusing their authority. They are doing it to the persons who are heads of trade unions and staff associations and other members of the executives of unions. They are using their power or authority to hinder those persons from carrying out their legitimate trade union duties, which is in contravention of Section 48 of the Trade Union Act.”
De Peiza noted that the acts appear to vary in motivation, ranging from punitive actions to ignorance of the law. He said the Ministry of the Public Service has been asked to urgently remind all departmental heads to adhere to the rule of law.
He said: “Some people are doing it in a manner that would seem to suggest that they are punitive; some are doing it in a manner that suggests that they are ignorant, and we have asked the Ministry of the Public Service to once again make sure that the heads of departments are aware of the law. Nobody is above the law, and if anybody is found wanting, this labour movement is not afraid of carrying them down to Coleridge Street, where the court will determine the course of action that will be taken for people who break the law and break it with impunity.”
He further made clear that CTUSAB would not hesitate to take the issue to court if it persists.
“If it is that this matter has to be dealt with before the law courts, then so be it. It cannot be allowed; it cannot continue where heads of departments believe that they are laws unto themselves and abuse what they seem to assume as power and authority that they have,” he said.
(SB)
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