Dear Editor,
The Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) had negotiated a Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) with the previous Pegasus management including a union security clause. Another clause requires the management to deduct union dues from the workers’ wages and pay them over to the union (the check-off system). Only one person is authorized to stop union dues being deducted, and that is the General Secretary of the union.
The workers must have consultations with the union’s General Secretary before this goes through so the process is democratic and transparent. The previous Pegasus management undertook a number of initiatives to cement a relationship of partnering the union, namely, all outstanding disputes were resolved at the Ministry of Labour; a process of continuous consultation through monthly engagements with the union/employees was instituted and an open-door policy was followed involving visits, meetings and telephone calls; and visits by the union to all departments of the hotel were facilitated.
The previous management developed a partnership arrangement with a view to solving the immediate problems that had arisen and to provide a basis for longer-term improvements in industrial relations and worker-management relations.
The Recognition Agreement sets out the explicit recognition of the union for the relevant categories of workers by the management; and the rights and responsibilities of the management.
Renegotiations of the terms and conditions of work and of wages have to be conducted promptly and concluded in good time, and must not be allowed to become matters for industrial conflict.
Yours faithfully,
Sherwood Clarke
Field Secretary
Clerical & Commercial Workers’
Union
