00:00On two occasions this year, the local courts have ruled in favour of the Aviation, Communication
00:05and Allied Workers' Union, allowing it to continue its representation of workers at
00:11Caribbean Airlines.
00:12The latest ruling came from the Court of Appeal.
00:15However, CAL has decided to further appeal the decision, taking it to TNT's final Court
00:20of Appeal, the Privy Council, while General Secretary of Akowu, Rudy Atwell, is weighing
00:26in.
00:27Atwell notes that the union's Certificate of Recognition remains valid.
00:31The only person that can cancel a union's Certificate of Recognition is any judge in
00:38the industrial court or the Registrar of Trade Union.
00:41So Akowu's Certificate of Recognition is still intact and we still have our gold standard
00:46collective bargaining agreement.
00:50And the posturing that has been taking place with CAL now going to the Privy Council after
01:00the court has ruled again that it's a successor is unfortunate, but that is the reality that
01:06we are dealing with.
01:08It's a further delay to any new collective bargaining on behalf of the workers, who remain
01:13under the agreement Akowu had with BWIA before the airline transitioned to CAL around 18
01:19years ago.
01:21That agreement is binding on any successor to BWIA, which the courts have determined
01:27is CAL.
01:28Atwell states that Akowu, which is the recognized majority union, has been following the Industrial
01:33Relations Act by the book, which he believes is the constructive route.
01:38We are always ready to collective bargain.
01:42I would always champion constructive behavior.
01:48You know, the taxpayers of this country unfortunately have to pay for lawyers for this exhaustive
01:56process of going to the Privy Council after losing the appeal.
02:02And it's a burden on the treasury.
02:04The workers affected by the 18-year-long standoff include mechanics, reservations, agents and
02:09ground staff, and flight attendants.
02:13Atwell says things like the increments and the cost of living allowance have also not
02:19been dealt with.
02:20It's awful, because if you would have had workers, I would have retired and would have
02:24not gotten what is just due to them.
02:27Workers would have passed away, you know, so it's really an injustice to hold off negotiations
02:35for that length of time.
02:37Atwell says despite this, the workers remain dedicated to the company, and he adds that
02:42Akowu is not giving up.
02:44We are ready for when that moment arises to help our workers get back their collective
02:51bargaining rights that they denied to them.
02:54Akowu labels what it calls a divide and conquer narrative to diminish the power of workers
03:00as being something that can be conquered through unity, and the union is encouraging young
03:05people in the country to seek trade union membership in their numbers.
03:09Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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