Collective bargaining is not done in the streets

May 09, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Google definition of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) states, “A written legal contract between an employer and a union representing the employees. The CBA is a result of an extensive negotiation process between the parties which include topics such as, wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment.” So, in the latest imbroglio between the GTU and the Government and the decision of the union to call a strike, the question is asked, were these specifics of collective bargaining adhered to? And the answer is, no?

So, the sabre rattling of the Teachers Union of an impending strike action goes against the tenets of collective bargaining and for this cause, we need to scrutinise the claims, if any, made by the union and how these can be addressed. In the first place, the union has broken all the rules, they are the ones who left the bargaining table and took to the streets in a month-long strike. When they realised that they were caught in a bind, they went to a court of law to address their concerns.

That court of law sent them back to the negotiating table. They came to the table in a contemptuous mode, making inordinate demands which were not stated in previous discussions, as a result, negotiations hit a stalemate. This angered them, wherein they headed back to court. Now, one would have thought that matters pertaining to wages and salaries would have been central to their second court appearance, but strikingly enough, it never did! Only fringe matters of the Government being tax collector for the union and payment for non-working days.

The judge then made a convoluted decision, which at the present moment he is having great difficulty to provide us with a written explanation to his ruling. So, led by lawyers with limited intelligence, their interpretation of Kissoon’s ruling is to call a continuous strike and close down the country. Well, how sensible is that conclusion is yet to be seen?

If the union was worth its salt, they would have headed back to the negotiating table with conciliatory tones asking that the government be gracious enough to meet them half way and pay the teachers for the extra two weeks spent on the picket line. They could have pleaded their position as having a moment of indiscretion and acceding to bad advice from their lawyers that caused them to be out those extra ten days. But foolishness has so consumed them that they cannot make their way out

There is no PPP/C Government that I know of that would have denied them that favour, but the crass belligerence that is so obvious in a PNC Led Union has caused them to lack good judgement. The other matter of the Government not being a tax collector for the union stands, it is a bargaining chip that could have been explored, an either-or situation. But like I said, politics and limited judgement on the Union’s part have them backed into a corner.

Therefore, this latest attempt to bully the Government, will not work, what the union has to do is quickly get back to the negotiating table and in an amicable way, discuss the way forward towards the upliftment of the teachers under their watch, there is no other way. Playing that belligerent yardie, streetside mentality, would not work either.

As the civilized world knows it, collective bargaining belongs to a bargaining table and not in the streets.

Respectfully submitted,

Neil Adams

Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Government, Neil Adams, Teachers union, Union

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