Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) general secretary Sir Roy Trotman has expressed concern that statements made by telecommunications giant LIME during the impasse could preclude the affected workers’ gainful employment in Barbados in the near future.
Sir Roy made the comments recently as he brought BWU delegates and those from the BWU LIME division up to date on the dispute with the telecommunications company.
The long-serving trade unionist accused LIME throwing out nothing but “half truths” to the public.
“They were awfully damaging and they would represent an exercise which might hinder people who were looking for jobs in the future,” he said.
Sir Roy said that during a meeting with LIME a week ago, which started around 11 o’clock and lasted several hours, LIME management said some things in a Press statement that the BWU “took very strong exception to”.
“Sometimes there is a lie, then there is a damn lie, and then there is a half-truth, and the half-truth is the worst of the three,” he said.
“Those comments that were made, to put it very mildly, were damaging, were insulting, were defamatory, were misleading and were denigrating. They reduced the status and image of the workers in the eyes of the public, and that was particularly bad because most of them were only half true,” he charged.
“Cable & Wireless was endangering the future of 97 or more workers because it would not only be those in the stores who would be adversely affected, but anybody else who is working with Cable & Wireless who leaves the company over the foreseeable future may get tarred by the same brush and might find themselves losing a job and being unable to find another one in our very small community,” added Sir Roy.
LIME had dismissed 97 of its workers from its retail stores and back office. It had initially indicated that they were closing the stores because of poor customer service. (MM)
