Bahamas
The ITUC does not have an affiliate in the Bahamas.
Bahamas ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association
freedom of association
The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 2001 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
(1949) in 1976.
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
Barriers to the establishment of organisations
- Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union
- The law contains provisions which confer on the competent authority a genuinely discretionary power to grant or reject a registration request, or to grant or withhold the approval required for the establishment and functioning of an organisation. Under section 8(1)(e) of the IRA, beyond consideration of the specific requirements for registration, the Registrar shall refuse to register a trade union if he/she considers that the union should not be registered. Moreover, according to section 1 of the Schedule of the IRA, in applying the rules for the registration of trade unions, the Registrar shall exercise his/her discretion.
- Restrictions on trade unions’ right to establish branches, federation and confederation or to affiliate with national and international organisations
- Trade unions cannot afflilate to any body constituted or organised outside the Bahamas without a special licence from the Minister, who has discretionary power to grant or refuse that permission and/or to make it subject to certain conditions (section 39 of the Industrial Relations Act).
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules
- Section 20(1) of the 2001 Industrial Relations Act (IRA) provides that the Registrar or designated officer must supervise the secret ballot to amend a union constitution.
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- The law provides that trade union representatives should be elected at intervals not exceeding 3 years.
Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office
- Other civil servants and public employees
- The prison service and the fire brigade are not covered by the Labour Relations Act and therefore do not have the right to organise.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents
- Excessive requirements in respect to trade unions’ representativity or minimum number of members required to bargaining collectively
- To be recognised as a bargaining agent, a union must represent 50% plus one of the employees (section 41 of the Industrial Relations Act).
Undermining of the recourse to collective bargaining and his effectiveness
- Other legal provisions undermining collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
- If an employer fails to reach agreement with a union after 12 months, the employer can apply to have the union's recognition revoked.
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors
- Other civil servants and public employees
- The fire brigade and prison guards do not have the right to collective bargaining.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Barriers to lawful strike actions
- Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to hold a lawful strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike - Section 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act requires a strike ballot to be taken under supervision by an officer of the ministry. If this section is not complied with, a strike is unlawful.
- Compulsory recourse to arbitration
arbitration
A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.
See conciliation, mediation , or to long and complex conciliation conciliation An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.
See arbitration, mediation and mediation mediation A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.
See arbitration, conciliation procedures prior to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions - The law grants the Minister the right to refer a dispute to the Tribunal if the parties to the dispute, within non-essential services, have failed to reach a settlement. It is unlawful to have recourse to strike action once the dispute has been referred to the Tribunal. Furthermore, a strike which, in the opinion of the Minister, affects or threatens the public interest, can be referred to the Tribunal for settlement.
Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions
- Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons) - Section 75 of the Industrial Relations Act provides that any strike is illegal if: (i) it has any object other than, or in addition to, the furtherance of a trade dispute within the trade or industry in which the strikers are engaged; or (ii) it is designed or calculated to coerce the Government either directly or by inflicting hardship upon the community. Sympathy strikes are therefore prohibited. It is unclear whether unions are able to use strike action to support their position in the search for solutions to problems posed by major social and economic policy trends.
Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness
- Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions - If strikes are organised in violation of the law, excessive sanctions, including imprisonment for up to two years, are foreseen (sections 74(3), 75(3), 76(2)(b) and 77(2) of the Industrial Relations Act).
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Unreasonable or discretionary (i.e. without negotiation with social partners
social partners
Unions and employers or their representative organisations.
or absence of an independent authority in the event of disagreement) determination of the extent of the “minimum service
minimum service
The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework ” to be guaranteed during strikes in public services - The government has the right to intervene in strikes to ensure the delivery of basic services and to uphold the "national interest".
In practice
Dwayne Woods, president of the Bahamas Utilities Services and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU), called on the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing on the injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
blocking Water and Sewerage Corporation workers from taking industrial action
industrial action
Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer.
. A judicial review regarding the presidency of the Water and Sewerage Management Union must take place before the hearing for the injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
takes place. The judicial review had been set for 20 March. However, Woods said he hopes that date can be pushed up to bring a resolution to the matter, which prevents workers from exercising their right to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
.
Employees at the National Insurance Board (NIB) planned to take a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
vote on November 1st, with the attorney for the Union of Public Officers, representing NIB line workers, predicting that “well over 90 per cent” of NIB employees are in favor of a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson confirmed that the strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
poll had been set for Friday the first. Mr Ferguson appeared in court in late October challenging the decision of Labour Minister Dion Foulkes to cancel the last employee strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
poll.
“The poll is now set for November 1 between the hours of 10 am and 4pm. The strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
poll had been cancelled. The point we had made was that even though there may have been technicalities, we were going to court to get the court to order the poll if the minister chose not to. They came to court and consented to the poll taking place on November 1. It really wasn’t necessary [to go to court],” said Mr. Ferguson.
Ferguson noted his concerns that the minister and director of labour verbally cancelled the strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
poll with less than a day’s notice in what he characterised as a “union-busting” move.
The Bahamas Doctors Union was prohibited from engaging in any form of industrial action
industrial action
Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer.
over millions in outstanding holiday pay, after a Supreme Court judge ruled that the group’s recent strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action was unlawful.
Justice Ian Winder, in a written ruling, ordered that the union, its officers, servants and agents are now restrained from “organising
organising
The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one.
or procuring its members to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
or to refuse to report to work when scheduled to do so”.
Justice Winder further ruled that union members are prohibited from leaving their place of employment, or otherwise participating “in any other form of industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. ” going forward.
The judge said the BDU “contravened” Section 76 of the Industrial Relations
industrial relations
The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.
See social dialogue
Act (IRA) when it continued to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
despite its obligation to discontinue once Labour Minister Dion Foulkes had referred the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal because the strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
had “threatened the public interest” in August.
Thus, Justice Winder said the government was “entitled” to injunctive relief.
However, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson, who represents the BDU, said Justice Winder’s ruling was “regressive” and implies that until or unless it is overturned, none of the 30 plus unions in The Bahamas will be able to go on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
for any length of time.
Mr Ferguson said Justice Winder’s ruling “conflicts” with what has been repeatedly said by the Court of Appeal concerning labour disputes. “The Court of Appeal has ruled consistently that the tribunal has no powers to impose terms and conditions where there is a bargaining impasse,” he explained. “That must be resolved around the negotiating table.”
The Bahamas Doctors Union (BDU) was blocked from taking industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. against the government and ordered to return to work after an injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. granted on 27th August by Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder.
According to Attorney General Carl Bethel, the injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
further ordered that BDU be restrained from contravening Sections 76, 77, and 83 of the Industrial Relations
industrial relations
The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.
See social dialogue
Act. It was also ordered that an ‘inter parties’ hearing be heard on 28th August before Justice Winder.
The injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
came several hours after BDU President Melisande Bassett revealed the union’s intent to use all legal means available to continue fighting the government, including holding a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
vote on several matters where they have been denied due course.
The union had been ordered back to work as a result of Labour Minister Dion Foulkes referring their holiday pay dispute to the Industrial Tribunal on Monday, but junior doctors continued their protests, marching from the Queen’s Staircase to Rawson Square.
Union leaders were wary of the BDU dispute being sent to the Industrial Tribunal, with Trade Union Congress President Obie Ferguson telling doctors beforehand that the panel had no power to deal with this issue.
This is the latest development in this ongoing standoff between government and BDU, which had been on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
since for several days.
“We have done everything that we were required to do,” Dr Bassett said. “We showed up to meetings when we were asked to. We went to the Industrial Tribunal when we had a scheduled meeting.... Meetings were cancelled. We weren’t given due process to actually argue our case.”
The Bahamas Industrial Manufacturers and Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU) released a statement on 18th March 2019 on claims of union busting union busting Attempts by an employer to prevent the establishment of a trade union or remove an existing union, e.g. by firing union members, challenging unions in court, or by forming a yellow union. and breach of industrial agreements by the Inagua-based Morton Salt Company of the Bahamas.
“Over the weekend, 16 and 17 March 2019, the company breeched the industrial agreement in that permanent workers were denied overtime [pay] contrary to the agreement, by scheduling part-time workers to work the overtime hours when permanent workers were willing and able to work the overtime.”
The comments come during a prolonged wage negotiation and discussion of bonus returns.
In December 2017, the government of the Bahamas refused to include the country’s trade union centres in the debate on the Commercial Enterprises Bill, which, if passed, would grant significant economic concessions to companies investing in the Bahamas, along with work permits for executives, managers and people with specialised knowledge. The trade unions pointed out that such measures provided many companies with tax advantages but were not geared towards generating employment or improving the situation of the most vulnerable workers. The trade unions urged the government to include them in the discussion of the Bill and to invest in resources that contribute to improving conditions for thousands of workers rather than a privileged few.
On 22 December 2017, the Bahamas Utilities Services and Allied Workers’ Union (BUSAWU) denounced the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s attempt to dismiss three trade union members who had been unfairly accused of stealing a fire hydrant from its premises. The trade union called for a rapid resolution of the issue, given that the company had moved to dismiss the workers immediately after an anonymous individual reported the alleged theft, on 22 November 2017, despite the absence of any evidence that an offence had been committed. Dwayne Woods, the union’s president, presented documents and reports testifying to the fact that no hydrant had been removed from the company’s premises. The police is conducting an investigation into the matter.
The Baha Mar hotel chain and its Melia resort obtained a Supreme Court injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. on 24 December 2014 that barred the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) from taking any form of industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. . The union had been in negotiation with the hotel chain for several months over plans to reduce gratuity rates, without reaching agreement. The injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. left the workers without any leverage over their dispute. Only attorneys for Baha Mar and Melia were present at the hearing.
Under the terms of the injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. , the union could not even tell its members to withdraw their labour by staying at home. The injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. prevented the BHCAWU “from inciting and/or inducing any employees of the Melia from abstaining from work, or from picketing picketing Demonstration or patrolling outside a workplace to publicise the existence of an industrial dispute or a strike, and to persuade other workers not to enter the establishment or discourage consumers from patronising the employer. Secondary picketing involves picketing of a neutral establishment with a view to putting indirect pressure on the target employer. or besetting the Melia, or intimidating employees of the Melia or its guests whosoever, or from in any way impeding employees of the Melia from attending work”.
Its terms further warned that persons aware of the injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. , and who breached its terms, would be guilty of contempt of court and subject to “imprisonment, fines or having their assets seized”. Such sanctions would thus apply to Melia staff who acted on their own accord, and not at the union’s behest.
Melia and Baha Mar warned that “Any employee who participates in an illegal work stoppage would be subject to consequences, including possible arrest and immediate dismissal.”. Darren Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) general secretary, pointed out that this left the union virtually impotent, and with no industrial unrest-related leverage over the gratuity dispute. The hotel claimed it needed to lower the gratuity rate to bring it in line with the rates applied in all-inclusive resorts. The union disputed that the hotel’s new format would make it an all-inclusive resort, and the hotel itself recognised that gratuities made up majority of tipped employees’ incomes.
The BHCAWU appealed against the injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
, at a hearing where both sides’ attorneys were present, on 14 January 2015. The appeal cleared the way for them to take industrial action
industrial action
Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer.
, and workers voted in favour of strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action beginning on 17 January. They were angered not only by the gratuity dispute but also the dismissal on 13 January, the day before the court hearing, of eight staff members, which they described as scare tactics.
The dispute had not been resolved by the end of March 2015.
Vice President of the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union, Elizabeth Thompson, was dismissed by BTC on 22 October 2012, in violation of an effective collective agreement. She had been employed in the legal department of the company for almost five years. In December 2012, the Joint Labour Movement led by Jennifer Isaacs Dotson and Obie Ferguson announced they would engage in strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action if BTC did not agree to discuss the matter with the union. In January 2013, the government announced its intervention to resolve the conflict regarding Elizabeth Thompson’s reinstatement at BTC.
It has been reported that the Grand Bahama Power Company is coercing workers at its power plant on West Sunrise Highway to enter individual contracts instead of negotiating with the Commonwealth Electrical Workers Union (CEWU) as the exclusive bargaining agent
bargaining agent
A workers’ representative authorised to bargain collectively on behalf of workers in a bargaining unit.
See collective bargaining
of the unit. CEWU made clear the company was abusing the fact that the concluded collective agreement was based on good faith and had not been registered. Furthermore, Obed Pinder, a union shop steward
shop steward
A union worker who represents the members of a union in dealings with the employer. Often elected by union members who work in the same establishment.
was dismissed without justification.