Some workers feel the vote for the overtime ban was intimidating
Dock workers are divided over union action being taken in response to the unfair dismissal of Chris Furbert Jr. in 2020.
Five long-serving Stevedoring Services employees approached Bermuda Broadcasting.
They say there are now about 14 out of 35 unionised port workers who were not employed at SSL at the time of the dismissal.
They feel that the voting process to implement the overtime ban was flawed and intimidating. Several members were not present at the union meeting, they say, and it was not a secret ballot – it was known who voted, and how.
We have confirmed that Chris Fubert Jr. was present at the meeting, but left ahead of the vote.
We understand between 21 and 23 members were present, and all but two voted in favour of the overtime ban.
The dock workers who spoke to us are concerned about the fact that this matter centres around the son of BIU President Chris Furbert.
They all agree that they would not be happy if the dismissed individual returned to work, and suggest this matter is creating a division between the newer port workers and those who have been there longer.
Some of the older staff, they say, are no longer attending union meetings.
Last year, a tribunal ruled that the dismissal of Chris Furbert Jr was unfair, because SSL had not followed its own grievance procedures.
The Tribunal awarded Mr Furbert Jr $250,000 in compensation, but did not order that he should be reinstated.
However, the union maintains that the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that an unfairly dismissed employee must be reinstated and repaid all lost wages.
The BIU Port Workers Division implemented a six-month overtime ban, beginning in June, and the union stated that it could set a dangerous precedent for organised labour across Bermuda, if “employers can pick and choose which CBS articles to follow”.
Meanwhile, the BIU claims SSL brought in non-unionised workers to perform overtime work normally handled by BIU members. The union cited concerns about a return to a divisive practice in the 1940s, when “non-union “volunteers” were brought in to break the back of dockworkers’ collective action”.
However, Stevedoring boss Randy Rochester said the employees that the union may be referring to are long-serving SSL employees who choose not to be a part of the union.
“They are free to work when they wish”, Mr Rochester said.
Furthermore, the five port workers who spoke to Bermuda Broadcasting suggested the union’s comments are misleading, because the non-unionised workers who worked overtime on the weekend were responding to the emergency of a crane breaking down – it was not a normal case of overtime.
The industrial action continues.
