BIU Concerns: Esso City Tiger Mart
The Bermuda Industrial Union [BIU] released a statement today [July 4] expressing their concern that “the management of Esso City Tiger Mart, located on Richmond Road in Hamilton, is in violation of the Trade Union Act 1965.”
The BIU statement said, “Section 30 (L) – “Compulsory recognition and duty to treat” clearly states “Where a union has obtained certification in respect of a bargaining unit and the certification remains in force, the employer shall deal with that union accordingly; and the union and the employer shall, subject to this Part, in good faith treat and enter into negotiations with each other for the purpose of collective bargaining.”
“For the past several months the Union has been negotiating with Senator Craig Cannonier, owner of the Esso City Tiger Mart and presently the negotiations have reached a stalemate in spite of the fact that the majority of the staff approached the Union in March 2010 requesting that we represent them at the bargaining table.”
“On September 2, 2010 the ballot was held and the majority of the staff voted for the Bermuda Industrial Union to represent them.”
“Since September 2010, the Union has had meetings on December 9, 2010, March 3, 2011, April 30, 2011 and supposed to meet today with Senator Cannonier, The Union has written numerous letters and contacted him via e-mail, however all to no avail.”
“We have informed the Acting Director of Labour & Training on a couple of occasions about the stalemate and negotiations are still at a stand-still.”
“The maiden agreement is two-thirds complete with the last meeting with Senator Cannonier’s management team held on May 2, 2011. However, since that date Senator Cannonier has not been available to meet with the Union. ”
“The Union has no other option but to request an arbitration as well as weighing other options to settle the matter as the staff have become disillusioned with the process due to management’s constant delay tactics. ”
“The Union wishes to assure the staff at Esso City Tiger Mart that we are still working on their behalf to bring closure to this matter,” concluded the statement.
lol – too bad the BIU arent as concerned about sticking to the law when it comes to their financial reports……..
Easy on Chris & Laverne as they are doing their best !
That’s the problem…
the whole country is goin down the drain!! pack ya bags n get out noe cause not even the BIU is gona save u!!
So long as the PLP stay in power, the BIU will just runamuck and bring this country down.
I could only imagine what it must be like for a business owner in 2011 to have the union as a business partner. You pay all of the expenses, take all of the risk and the union steps in to try and dictate the terms upon which you employ staff. I believe that can be a useful function but it has been abused with no accountability in sight by the BIU or the people it represents. As such, in this case, when I hear that the union is getting involved with Mr. Canoniers business affairs, I cant help but think if there is some political motivation behind it.
Political ambush…
Yup.
meh.. more chest puffing on biu’s part. We’ve seen how they act with the public transportation workers… because of that i am reluctant to believe they have any legitimate beef with this business other then to bully.
i wish i could support the union, but their track record lately is less the valid.
Your right on the money Scott. It seems the union want to get their grubby hands on every worker in the island. At times it seems, they display a form of power tripping..
craig just go ahead and work with them
The phrase “self serve” is becoming ever more attractive.
I’m happy to pump my own gas… enjoy unemployment fellas.
agreed!!! gimme a card activated machine n im good to go.
I am happy to do just the same…..pump my own gas….I often wonder why employ gas attendants as I never see them at convenience stores with gas pumps in the big cities in USA…they should feel lucky to be employed…my gosh
No way! I have not ever nor do I wish to ever pump my own gas. Besides, they check the oil for me, clean my windscreen and all I do is give them a tip. I have never met a rude gas attendant, they are all very polite and always have something nice to say… so… you can pump your own gas if you want to but here in Bermuda we do things properly. Now, if they want to join a union, I don’t think there’s not much Tiger Mart can do about it… although I disagree wholeheartedly that a union should tell a company how to run their business.
For some reason the workers feel they should be represented, most times and I they feel they are not treated well or being taken advantage of so representation is a good thing. There are two sides to this story it would be nice to know what the workers feel about management.
i would tend to agree if it was a different union involved.
Hey Joe Blow get laid off then see what your Union does for you. Go ask the Union how much they will pay weekly when you don’t have a job???
Tell them that you need to see their official financials for the past few years as there are concerns over them and you don’t want to forward any money to anyone that maybe in violation of the law…
I just knew you oba-bda-ubp guys would see it like this – not one of you has commented on Tigermart’s wrong doings. Anything to be anti-government.
like i said there are two sides to the story find what the workers beef is i am sure there are many or they would not have wanted a Union in the first place
look at the buses and ferries..
could it be that they are just upset that they dont get as many days off? or cant come to work drunk?
Yup – cuz the hope is that one day, the masses might realise that we are ALL getting screwed by this government, and the BIU, but it is the joe blow guy on the street that is getting hit hardest. It’s taking them the longest to realise it though for some strange reason. Weird. Perhaps its becuase they are spending so much time looking backwards or looking at the colour of eachothers skin that they are not seeing that they are getting slapped in the face by the very people pretending to be helping.
Um… these posts aren’t anti-Goverment, they’re anti-union.
There’s a MAJOR difference!
Freudian slip there, Mr. Eve?
And isn’t the other side a Senator? Wouldn’t siding with the union on this be anti-Government?
Oh, wait…
by anti-government, you mean anti-PLP…
my bad. I didn’t realize you didn’t know that there’s a difference…
bwwwahahahahaha!
So, there was a time when the Union represented the hotel industry -one of the largest in the Caribbean at the time. It also represented the construction industry. The hotel industry has collapsed and the construction industry is non-unionised. What is left for the BIU is government workers (bus drivers), dockworkers, and some fringes. The union is losing members and money but it appears it still wants the power. Go after Cannonier. Makes sense and a real job creator.
Now, why does he need staff? I have used garages far bigger with fewer. Self-pump; self-serve. A manager and cashier on duty. Fewer jobs for Bermudians, no members for the union, better service to the consumer. It’s odd that we seem to find this solution so difficult to understand.
Not many have commented on what the workers need the average Joe Blow Bermudian worker. All I hear is the BIU yes they have scewed up big time but lets focus on the issue of why the Union is been asked by the workers to Represent them.
Not enough information given to tell what up with this one. What’s the worker’s grievance?
LOL
Bernews can you find out what the workers conserns are ?
How hard is it to come up with your own screen name. A true “Free Thinker” does not copy others, they are quite capable of forming their own ideas, E
ESPECIALLY! SOMETHING AS A SCREEN NAME!
I seem to remember a few years ago that union workers at the biu gas station had a gripe with the union and were let go. best of luck at 24/7.
TIP: When getting fuel using a machine that accepts debit and credit cards, when you swipe, authorize and get to the screen that prompts you to enter an amount, just press ENTER and you can fill your scooter or car to the brim. Reseat the nozzle, print your receipt and you’re done.
only up to $75…if you have an SUV, you may need to repeat the process.
In the RG they say that…
“A shop steward working at the gas station yesterday afternoon said he did not wish to comment, other than saying the situation was “no fault of Mr Cannonier’s”.
Hmmmmm….
A BIU SHOP STEWARD AND THE HEALTH INSPECTOR WERE DANCING ON COCKROACHES ONE MORNING IN THE KITCHEN OF A PARTICULAR HOTEL.
YES FOLKS COCKROACHES!
WHERE WAS THE BIU REPRESENTATION FOR THE WORKERS IN THAT KITCHEN?
Well my take is that Cannonier wants to represent the people BUT he can’t even make time to represent his staff. Arrogance and a hypocrite. All the workersnwant is representation and to prevent any abuse by the employer. There are plenty of success stories where Union never gets involved.
Bernews how is it you allow two people with the same Screen Name. Do you not know by email that someone is pirating a Screen Name.
Craig…the knives are coming out. Better watch your back buddy. Now I get the gist of what you said to me today during our brief convo. Poli(latin for many)ticks(blood sucking creature) is a dirty dirty game my friend……..