Discussion About Bus/Ferry Service To Continue
The bus service has now been suspended for just over a week, since last week Friday, and “discussions between the parties are scheduled to continue” this morning [Sept 25], Minister of Transport Lawrence Scott said.
The BIU has sent a letter [PDF] to management stating, “Employers have an obligation to take all reasonable care in the circumstances to protect the health and safety of employees under the occupational safety and health legislation. ”
They also stated, “The executive of both the Department of Public Transportation [DPT] and the Department of Marine and Ports [M&P], on behalf of our membership request the following:
- Deep cleaning and sanitizing of all vessels/buses and all staff areas
- Deep cleaning and sanitizing to be performed on a mutually agreed schedule
- PCR or Saliva Covid-19 testing to be set up and performed on a bi-weekly basis, therefore everyone knows their status
- No loss of pay during this shut down period
“Upon completion and our satisfaction of the above request, only then can a discussion of resuming services be had with the membership,” the BIU added.
Screenshot of part of the letter, which you can read in full here [PDF]
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
Mr. Speaker, the public bus service has been disrupted for seven days now. In these trying times, not having transportation adds additional stress, anxiety and burden to those who rely on the public bus service. As Minister, I feel compelled to report exactly why the commuting public has been without public buses.
Early last week, the Department of Public Transportation’s Safety and Health Committee Co-Chairs communicated about safety and health concerns within the workplace. The Committee did not formally meet, nor were any recommendations to the Department of Public Transportation [DPT] Management required under section 7B of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1982.
Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, 16 September 2021, the President of the BIU Bus Division sent an email to the Acting Director of the DPT. He advised that as of 9:00 am Friday, the Division would be withdrawing their labour. Just before noon on Friday, he sent a second email to the DPT Acting Director, DPT Operations Manager, the Government Occupational Safety and Health Officer and the Head of Public Service. In that email, he advised that the Division would withdraw labour as of noon that day under the provisions of section 84[1][e] of Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 2009.
A meeting was held between the DPT and the BIU Bus Division at 3:00 pm Friday. The DPT informed the Division that the legislation provided for why the Division was withdrawing services was incorrect. The Bus Division acknowledged that the provision of law provided was not correct.
The DPT also advised that the requirements listed in the email were already in place and asked whether the Bus Division could be more specific.
Mr. Speaker, the No Work, No Pay Policy was applied since the DPT believed the concerns could have been addressed without the Division withdrawing labour.
Mr. Speaker, the DPT also wrote to the Labour Relations Manager to register a labour dispute between the DPT Management and the Bus Division of the BIU regarding the safety of the public bus service. The BIU responded that the matter was not a labour issue and should be treated as a safety and health emergency.
Later that night, the Division submitted a revised email quoting section 7A[1] and 7C[d] of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1982 for their actions. After reviewing the situation, the Government Occupational Safety and Health Officer advised that the Ministry of Health has approved the COVID-19 protocols at the DPT to provide for continuing safe operations. She noted that there had been an increase in Covid cases, but that does not satisfy the notion of imminent danger.
She further stated that section 7A refers to the employee having the right to refuse work if there is reasonable cause to believe that the condition of the place of employment presents an imminent and serious danger to their health or life. While 7B allows the employee to report the matter to their employer and remain available for work until their claim has been investigated.
Mr. Speaker, the main point is that the Division did not follow the law. The Government cannot justify paying when the Division does not comply with the law. Mr. Speaker, I understand the frustration and concerns that all of us have while we are in the current phase of Covid. It is a difficult time, and fears and anxiety about the Delta variants and other strong emotions can sometimes be overwhelming – especially for those members of our community that have been personally affected by Covid. I speak from personal experience as I, too, lost a family member due to Covid.
Mr. Speaker, a large segment of our community, depends on public transportation to go about their day-to-day lives – including: our essential workers, nurses and caregivers getting to the hospital, residential care facilities and private residences; our seniors who need to get to their medical appointments, groceries and visits to their loved ones; our children getting to extra curriculum activities; the general public getting to work; Mr. Speaker, the list goes on. During this interruption, members of our community were at bus stops for long periods, waiting and waiting in all types of weather, some unsheltered, for a bus that did not show up.
Mr. Speaker, the commuting public, was unnecessarily inconvenienced by actions that could have been addressed without leaving commuters stranded.
Mr. Speaker, the Government cannot continue in the current vein: the public needs to be serviced and the BIU Bus Division members need to work in order to take care of their fundamental needs. The Ministry of Transport is committed to safety in the workplace and maintaining an environment where all staff are secure and safe at work.
Mr. Speaker, discussions between the parties are scheduled to continue at 10:00 am tomorrow.
Thank You, Mr. Speaker!
YOUR FIRED
““Upon completion and our satisfaction of the above request, only then can a discussion of resuming services be had with the membership,” the BIU added.”
And there we have it. The PLP Government must perform to the satisfaction of the BIU before the BIU will even discuss resumption of services.
please do not back down from no work no pay !! I give up on this Island if you do ! There is just a constant waste of money from we the taxpayers .
Where are these bus drivers and 3 dispatchers and garage staff et al.
Shopping, sunning , chilling.
This is for the kisskadees……………………………….
AND GETTING PAID full salary.
Where is the rest of bus operators home doing thing the prison have it and they still are working
The BIU has downed tools and stopped for “meetings” to many times over the last 15 years! Their assembly at the BIU and the march was discouraged by Health officials and was statistically and likely a contributing factor to the increase of Covid amongst the membership. Now that nobody is sympathetic or supportive of the BIU and the staff who want to once again get paid for NOT working….they want to talk. Most of us that relied on you (when we needed you the most) have learnt to do without. No sympathy here.
Caveat – I have been a union member all my life in every job I ever had.
Here we go again. The Union calls out their members on strike thus withholding their labour but demanding to be paid for it.
Let’s hope that Government would finally show some backbone and stick to the decision not to pay.
As not a member of busses or ferries but a rider of the busses, be careful what hate you wish on fellow Bermudians, the bread you send out on the water is what returns back to you. You withhold pay from hundreds of workers for this amount of time, you are shooting yourselves in the foot. They cannot contribute to the economy or Buy Bermuda without paychecks. Less revenue for Gov’t and services.
Both parties need to work this out soon. Bermudians tend to be hating on fellow Bermudians to much these days and need to go for therapy. VERY SHAMEFUL!!!
We need a reliable public transportation system in place and it has been pretty obvious for many years that BIU is a constant wrench in the works and have been spoiled over the years by having illegal and wildcat stoppages and strikes but still getting paid . Time to put a stop to this nonsense .
No one is suggesting “withholding pay”. They can get paid. All they have to do is a day’s work, like the rest of us have to. That’s how it works.
I’m sorry, are you saying that our bankrupt government should pay people who refuse to work because of a power struggle between certain members of the BIU and certain members of the PLP?
Do your job and get paid! Simple. Sit on the wall or at home and watch paint dry get no pay! Simple. Now choose or STFU!
Government needs to grow some pecans. Lay it out. BE AT WORK OCTOBER 1ST OR DON’T COME BACK.
You are fired.
The public has gotten used to no buses. They are not coming back, if at all, until a reliable alternative service is established.
Privatise it. Whatever is created will have to be government subsidized however it will be much cheaper to the taxpayers & much more reliable than what is now.
So tired of all this….Go to work …everyone else is ….isn’t transportation essential service? Like banks? All their frontline staff are in the trenches working….No work no pay that’s how life works …I wonder if you all are staying home all weekend …can’t gave it both ways you know…oh wait if you are BIU you can…the privileged entitled …i do what I want