THE PRISON OFFICERS ASSOCIATION and the Government of Barbados will soon lock horns in court to determine if warders can join a trade union, and represent themselves at the bargaining table.
The civil matter, with the association as the claimant and the Attorney General’s Office as the defendant, has been set down for trial on September 18 before Justice William Chandler.
The association is challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the Prison Act, which bans prison officers from joining a union. They claim this rule puts them at a serious disadvantage when it comes to collective bargaining.
The High Court has ordered the association to file skeletal arguments (written submissions which explain the grounds of their substantive case) by July 31. (BA)
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