During the year, another arena of struggle by the Union and the workers ensued with the Noble House Seafoods Limited (NHSL) regarding a pay rise to its workers. The Company which employs some 250 persons, mainly females, in the processing of seabob destined mainly for export has been contending that it could not have afforded to grant any pay rise to its workers.
Following the expiration of our last Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) in March, 2018, the Union and the Company have been engaged in discussions regarding improvement in pay and other conditions-of-work. The Management of the Company continued to insist that it was recording losses and thus the situation prevented any pay improvement. Our Union continued to pursue the matter and eventually sought the assistance of the Department of Labour with the hope of bringing the parties to come to an amicable agreement. Initial discussions at the level of the Labour Department saw the company agreeing to share its financial information with the Union to substantiate its position. The GAWU and the NHSL also agreed to resume discussions at the bilateral level following the disclosure of the new information. With the Company’s financial data at our disposal, our Union combed through the numbers and made some interesting discoveries.
When the Union presented its findings to the Company and sought to convince NHSL that a pay rise was possible it remained unmoved. The adamancy of the Company saw the workers downing tools to protest the attitude of the Company towards the negotiations. The workers were also upset that the employment of one of their shop stewards was terminated by NHSL after an incident with a senior manager. Following several days of protest action, a Terms of Resumption was reached and the workers returned to work. Resulting from the agreement, the dispute was once again being addressed at the level of the Department of Labour. Our Union reiterated its position while the Company presented additional information in an effort to bolster its contentions. The GAWU again carefully analysed the data and demonstrated that a pay rise was not out of its realm.
After some back and forth, the Company proposed a certain pay rise, this was not deemed acceptable by the Union and the workers. Further discussion and with the assistance of the Labour Department, the Company upped its offer. We have shared with the workers the Company’s latest position and they have asked us to re-engage the NHSL on the matter. While there have been some positive steps and this encourages the belief that an agreement is within reach. Such an outcome, however, is ultimately up to the Management and its shareholders. We are hopeful of an agreement in the interest of all concerned.
