by ANMARIE BAILEY

EMPLOYEES of Barbados Shipping & Trading (BS&T) have been told to prepare for any eventuality.

General Secretary of the Barbados Workers' Union (BWU), Sir Roy Trotman, made the point last Monday evening at a meeting with the workers at Solidarity House.

About 200 "pensive" employees, from several entities within the Barbadian conglomerate, braved the wet weather to hear from their union, and to have their first opportunity to ask questions regarding their job status.

Sir Roy told the gathering that with a buy-out, anything could happen, adding that the BWU understood their anxieties and therefore planned a series of meetings to allow them a forum to hear and be heard.

The BS&T, this island's largest private sector conglomerate, is the target of a takeover by two Trinidadian companies: Neal & Massy and ANSA McAL.

Sir Roy told the employees the union's "intention is to make sure that people do not only hear the financial pundits".

"There are workers who have put their lives into the job and they want to hear something more than how many dollars. They want to know something about how it relates to them, the value of the time they put into the business."

Afterwards, he spoke to the MIDWEEK NATION about some of the workers' concerns.

The key, he said, was the need to separate fact from fiction in the very important issue facing the company and the workers.

"The workforce has never before been confronted by such a massive change . . . . They are wondering: 'How much in the public domain is for public consumption, but is more apparent than real?' Much of what has been happening recently is in the nature of public relations."

Since individual members of the BWU represent only a small percentage of BS&T shareholders, Sir Roy opted not to comment on the topic of ownership, but to focus on the union's role if and when a takeover occurs.

"I have a responsibility, with my colleagues, to make sure that their interests are not left aside and forgotten simply because somebody believes that all there is to life is the dollar value of a share."

Also discussed were matters relating to pensions; the rights and responsibilities of the workers and the union's role in properly positioning itself to ensure the workers' needs were not sacrificed to maximise what [the company] could get out of the shares," Sir Roy said.

The union represents about 1 200 of BS&T's 2 500 employees.