bahamiangoddess
06-18-08, - 02:05 PM
War of words
By ROGAN M. SMITH, Guardian Senior Reporter, rogan@nasguard.com
A war of words continues to rage between the executive members of the country's hotel union and the trustees, who claim that union president Roy Colebrook, secretary general Leo Douglas and treasurer Basil McKenzie are "holding the union hostage."
Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union executives have been locked in an intense, bitter battle with council members for months.
Eight of the council members accused the trio of engaging in matters that were not approved by the council.
On Tuesday, attorney Keod Smith, who represents the trustees, said line staff in the union have not been paid because his clients are not allowed to sign off on checks to pay workers, all because Colebrook, Douglas and McKenzie have refused to cooperate with them, in spite of a court order.
In a recent ruling, Supreme Court Justice Neville Adderley ordered that the president could no longer sign checks on the union's behalf until after the case is heard.
The court date is scheduled for August 20.
Now, Smith says employees are suffering because they have not been paid and have seemingly been dragged into a fight with executive officers.
Justice Adderley ordered that the treasurer and secretary general, along with one of the trustees, have the authority to sign union checks.
In the absence of the treasurer, the assistant treasurer will sign instead, the judge ruled.
Kirk Wilson, the union's first vice president, claimed that it was Colebrook who prevented a trustee from signing the payroll so the staff could be paid. Smith agrees.
"The three men are refusing to give the information to the trustees and as a result, they cannot sign on the payrolls being put in front of them to confirm. If they do that, knowing that some of the names are not correct, they themselves will be guilty of misappropriating union funds. They have taken corrective steps to hold off on signing off on anything further, until they have the correct information, which they are entitled to have in light of the order from the court," he said.
"They were also ordered to cooperate fully and they have not. Until the offending officials cooperate, the trustees can't sign off on the checks and so the average workers, for example the cooks, can't be paid."
Smith said, "My clients, meaning the trustees and obviously those who support my clients, are concerned that the union is being held hostage by these three people, by the things that they are doing and the games they are playing."
He continued, "There was a general meeting that was called recently, and in that meeting 700 people were in attendance and they stand squarely behind the efforts of the trustees to resolve this matter and protect the union and its assets."
Smith says the trustees simply want to protect the assets of the union. He also accused the executive trio of deliberately miscommunicating information to the public.
He says the rumors have become so bad that he has taken out a court application to have the men charged wwith contempt.
"They are (making these false statements) in written document form, and spreading rumors over the airwaves," he said. "Contempt proceedings have been taken out on all of them. We are waiting for the court to hear the application and determine if they are actually in contempt and should be penalized by imprisonment or fines.
"The court I'm sure will hear the application and determine whether they are in contempt, and make a determination as to whether they should be penalized by imprisonment, or by fines, or both. Those are the steps that are being taken, and other steps are being taken to compel the compliance of the three of them."
By ROGAN M. SMITH, Guardian Senior Reporter, rogan@nasguard.com
A war of words continues to rage between the executive members of the country's hotel union and the trustees, who claim that union president Roy Colebrook, secretary general Leo Douglas and treasurer Basil McKenzie are "holding the union hostage."
Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union executives have been locked in an intense, bitter battle with council members for months.
Eight of the council members accused the trio of engaging in matters that were not approved by the council.
On Tuesday, attorney Keod Smith, who represents the trustees, said line staff in the union have not been paid because his clients are not allowed to sign off on checks to pay workers, all because Colebrook, Douglas and McKenzie have refused to cooperate with them, in spite of a court order.
In a recent ruling, Supreme Court Justice Neville Adderley ordered that the president could no longer sign checks on the union's behalf until after the case is heard.
The court date is scheduled for August 20.
Now, Smith says employees are suffering because they have not been paid and have seemingly been dragged into a fight with executive officers.
Justice Adderley ordered that the treasurer and secretary general, along with one of the trustees, have the authority to sign union checks.
In the absence of the treasurer, the assistant treasurer will sign instead, the judge ruled.
Kirk Wilson, the union's first vice president, claimed that it was Colebrook who prevented a trustee from signing the payroll so the staff could be paid. Smith agrees.
"The three men are refusing to give the information to the trustees and as a result, they cannot sign on the payrolls being put in front of them to confirm. If they do that, knowing that some of the names are not correct, they themselves will be guilty of misappropriating union funds. They have taken corrective steps to hold off on signing off on anything further, until they have the correct information, which they are entitled to have in light of the order from the court," he said.
"They were also ordered to cooperate fully and they have not. Until the offending officials cooperate, the trustees can't sign off on the checks and so the average workers, for example the cooks, can't be paid."
Smith said, "My clients, meaning the trustees and obviously those who support my clients, are concerned that the union is being held hostage by these three people, by the things that they are doing and the games they are playing."
He continued, "There was a general meeting that was called recently, and in that meeting 700 people were in attendance and they stand squarely behind the efforts of the trustees to resolve this matter and protect the union and its assets."
Smith says the trustees simply want to protect the assets of the union. He also accused the executive trio of deliberately miscommunicating information to the public.
He says the rumors have become so bad that he has taken out a court application to have the men charged wwith contempt.
"They are (making these false statements) in written document form, and spreading rumors over the airwaves," he said. "Contempt proceedings have been taken out on all of them. We are waiting for the court to hear the application and determine if they are actually in contempt and should be penalized by imprisonment or fines.
"The court I'm sure will hear the application and determine whether they are in contempt, and make a determination as to whether they should be penalized by imprisonment, or by fines, or both. Those are the steps that are being taken, and other steps are being taken to compel the compliance of the three of them."