No Hidden Agenda – Stand on Principles
When discussing last week’s strike action, BIU President Chris Furbert said he took “great offense” to an implication made by a member of the public that he had an “hidden agenda” as he was somehow upset over the PLP’s selection of Marc Bean to stand in the bye-election last year.
The BIU President, who has been involved with the union for 39 years, said he has “always stood on principles,” and that to suggest that the strike was somehow a case of “”sour grapes” is a “serious indictment against the membership,” as the members made that decision.
Mr Furbert had been considered as the PLP’c candidate for the December 2010 bye-election held in Constituency 26 to fill the seat held by former Premier Dr Ewart Brown. In August 2010, Mr Furbert was shortlisted for the seat along with Senator Kim Wilson, businessman Nelson Hunt and former Senator Marc Bean, who was the candidate selected by the PLP, and the eventual winner of the bye-election.
Speaking last week Thursday [Feb 10], the second day of the strike, Mr Furbert said: “I took great offense to the talk show this afternoon cause a gentleman called in and told me he thought I had a hidden agenda. And if you know anything about Chris Furbert, I’ve been involved with the BIU for 39 years now, always stood on principles. What happened in Constituency #26 is over and done with now, Marc Bean is the candidate now and I hold nothing against the branch, nothing against him personally, I wish him all the best.”
“So for him to imply I have some hidden agenda, because I have sour grapes about that…to me is a serious indictment against the membership, serious indictment against the membership, cause the members made that decision. As I said on the radio, I stopped the service initially but when I came here yesterday afternoon at 4:30 I told them I apologized for stopping the service, now its up to them to make the decision whether to continue with what I have done. Crystal clear. No hidden agenda whatsoever.” concluded Mr Furbert.
The strike, which started on Wednesday [Feb 9] at approximately 4:20pm, was predicated by the firing of an employee who called in sick while working a part time job. Mr Furbert called a press conference on Wednesday and confirmed that “bus service was shut down.”
The strike continued on Thursday with drivers gathering at the Bus Depot and spending the day there. At 12:30pm on Thursday Labour Minister Kim Wilson filed a Gazette Extraordinary. Later that day a proposal was made, from the BIU side, that the driver be reinstated with a months suspension and 6 months probationary period, which was rejected by Transport Minister Terry Lister.
The following day an agreement was struck which saw the strike end after the bus driver reinstated with a 5 week suspension and a one year probationary period. Minister Lister said he was faced with the choice of “standing firm and dealing with this one man, or allowing the country to have the situation to escalate to something that could become a national strike at a time when the economy is challenged.”
Stop talking from the side of your mouth Mr. Furbert. Wrong is wrong. The fact that your Union disrespected the agreement with Government, disregarded the law in regards to the 21 day pre-strike warning while also completely disregarding the legality of the Gazette Extraordinary issued by the Minister of Justice in order to portect an employee who lies and forges documents (which is also illegal)is just wrong, thoughtless, ignorant and selfish on your part.
A man that is more than willing to bring this island to a halt and disrupt the lives of thousands of Bermudians in order to save one crooked employee’s job has no principles to begin with.
Took all the words right out of my mouth.
BIU made Govt look bad, weak, and stupid. They should have handled this mess behind closed doors instead in the public forum. Lister should resign to save is credibility. His decision was obviously over-ridden. It seems we continue to shoot ourselves in both feet, why not just aim for the head next time.
More confirmation that the BIU has no regard for rules. They just do what the want, and if you don’t like it, too bad. Maybe one day the bus service will be privatized. But that will never happen if people do not vote for change.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” -Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this cause the Man!
Mr. Furbert who are you trying to convince? You can’t convince those that feel deeply this was wrong through and through. Our Blinders are off.
any update on whether govt is following up on that “21 day cooling period” breach?
Yawn…public knows the truth!!!
From what I read in the Gazette this morning it would appear that this all falls back to Premier Cog and now it makes a little more sense to me that Mr. Lister has now been made the Cog in the Wheel
Well it (The Gazette article) suggests Cog and brother Derrick applied some pressure, and that it wasn’t Terry’s decision to make. Where’s the Delusional Damsel when you need her, she’ll know what the Union has over the Government?
Wonder if Government will ask for the performance bond back – you know, the taxpayers money?
I still think that Brother Derrick is the real Premier but he needed the cog to by the popularity and get voted in inorder to rule after all the he is not to popular and the’Cog’ seems to be spineless.
LOL
Mr. Furbert you are a big joke. Principle? you stand for principle, and defending a time thief. You make me laugh, you have absolutely no credibility. You and your organization, is no better than the unions in the States that are run by organized crime, because what you did, was akin to extortion.
What’s amazing is that the government, by not standing their ground, ended up accepting a worse deal than the first that was proposed: now this dude has “5 week suspension and a one year probationary period” whilst before it would have been “a months suspension and 6 months probationary period”. SMH
So now Bermuda taxpayers are going to have to pay for this man’s employment for a whole year.
Who’s to say he won’t pull another “sick day” when the one year probation period is over?! What happens then?!
OK, so wrong is wrong – we know it and so does Furbert. Give it a rest Ferbert – stop trying to do damage control – you screwed up and you know it. What’s done is done. You took a huge dump on the people of Bermuda. Shame on you and your lazy bus drivers.
That being said, I know 2 wrongs don’t make a right, BUT, yesterday, I flipped off a bus driver and it made me feel like I DID have a say in this whole matter!! I’m not condoning rude finger gestures, but I really felt justified.
Has the bus driver been arrested for forgery yet?
Have all of the bus drivers who went on an illegal stike been penalized yet??? NOPE and will the? Nope!! and what will the governement do? NOTHING.
So we can all assume now that this type of behaviour happens also between the BIU and other employers, notably the hotels. No wonder relations seem strained at times if the union is supporting this type of dishonest and unacceptable action. But in Bermuda the BIU is allowed to run things. Remember the struggle! Onward brothers!
Principles??????? WHAT PRINCIPLES?
Please dont ask ‘why’ the next time some young man shoots at another with impunity. Just learn to live with the tragedy and those to come. Our young men learn from their ‘leaders’. Please, premier Cog and your cronies – dont put on perplexed, angry or confused faces, dont give eloquent speaches about how we should come together to fight crime. Look within and at the message you are sending.
If it smells like dog $h!t it usually is!!
To BUI members, “We the people” pay your Salary… and in future.. it will be either the we the people rules not yours.. we pay the piper… you play our song not yours.. Get a life!
signed “we the people”
Just wait till Friday…THE COG HAS MORE NEWS! BUDGET TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
SSDD. Lister should resign in disgust to save his credibility. If Premier Cox had any honour, she should resign too. Not gonna happen. Life is too good at the trough. As long as the sheeple are out in the field it is business as usual.
lolprinciples
All you people on here should learn the facts before you run you mouths, as chris furbert stated there is no such agreement between the BIU & gov. for a 21 day strike notice. Only essential services such as police, fire, prison officers are required to give a 21 day strike notice.
But there is a 72 hour cooling off period as a result of the debt forgiveness in 2009…
And yet the lawless Union couldn’t even abide by that despite the fact that they are only surviving due to the waste of millions of tax payers money…
You know, if you aren’t that smart and you keep your mouth shut no one will know. But if you continually open your mouth wide enough for both feet to fit, then everyone on God’s green earth will know just how foolish and clueless you are.
PRINCIPLE!! So one of the Union’s principles is to support and hold the country to “ransom” for a member who lied and falsified a document. Also for a member who has ALREADY been suspended for the same. These are the principles the Union is NOW standing for.
BIU MEMBERSHIP, take a hold of your Union and rid yourselves of your non-existent leadership. You are being led into the night without a flashlight! Wake up and smell the bus fumes.
Come on Chris…tell us who the real “owners” or beneficiaries of UAH are? We know the government let them off the hook. Wonder how your members would react to finding out it was never for their benefit?
That missing money would go a long way to helping Cog balance the budget huh?
@Speechless these words ring loud and clear within this community and we all know why we are in this state. There can be as many mirror programs and Big Brothers and Sister and such but if they don’tlook in the mirror at themselves as leaders of this country and realize that they need to pray to God to change them so that they can lead by His example things will continue to go on as they are. Satan will continue to rule with death and destruction in our lives and not as before in our once upon a time isles of Paradise when we felt that this was truly another world because it we had a peaceful and beautifulexistance amongst all people.
Wake up call…..let’s hear it now!!!!!!
Just observing the idiotic actions of the UNION to get this guys job back by celebrating bad behaviour the Government should have stood there ground and not gave in now the UNION head by a “fork tongued” leader will go on strike at will. In my observation do away with the UNION and see how many people will still be doing all the silly things that the UNION has to go and represent these idiotic people for.