On Tuesday, 19th Aug/03, a third demonstration against the discriminatory labour practises of RBC in The Bahamas was held in Rawson Square, across from Parliament, in Nassau. The event was co-ordinated and lead by the President of the Public Service Drivers' Union, Mr. Richard Johnson. Whilst I was not personally involved in this demonstration, Mr. Johnson and his colleagues have my full support as they tackle this behemoth.

In response to the very serious allegations against it, Royal has thus far only seen fit to respond with the customary canned speech from its Regional Office. This time, however, as reported in The Nassau Guardian on 20th Aug/03, the response came all the way from Royal’s Head Office, through its Sr. V.P. of Corporate Communications, David Moorcroft. As a result of the words attributed to him, I am impelled to respond.

First of all, Mr. Moorcroft is a puppet. As such, one should take his words with a grain of salt since they are mere political rhetoric. He labels the efforts of Messrs. Johnson and co. as "misconceptions and untruths" and attributes the whole exercise of exposing Royal's nefarious practises to someone with a "personal interest" who has "an axe to grind". I am going out on a limb here when I ASSume that I am the said someone since my battle with Royal has been in the public eye quite a bit of late.

If that is the case, then Mr. Moorcroft should be ashamed of himself and the organization he is representing! How dare he trivialize my fight for justice for my family and me? Royal seems to want to nonchalantly hide from what was done but this will not happen. Through negligent misrepresentation, they caused my family and me to return to Nassau for a position that never materialized. To add insult to injury, for years I had to suffer the indignity of internal cannibalism and the scourge of the Canadians-only practise that Mr. Johnson was protesting. When all attempts to get justice within the bank failed, I turned to the Labour Board of The Bahamas. After only two brief conciliation meetings, both parties were sent away to "in good faith, make Mr. Moss comfortable on his job". Royal obliged by abruptly terminating my employment WITHOUT EXPLANATION the following day. That was seven months ago! As a result, I have been unable to secure employment in my own country as I have, in effect, been blacklisted. My family, particularly my 3-year-old son, has suffered and continues to suffer untold grief and loss as a result.

Royal Bank, like Mr. Johnson said, is the oldest and once largest bank in The Bahamas. Most Canadians don't even know that Royal was in The Bahamas before it was even in Toronto! So, after almost 100 years in this country, Mr. Moorcroft should be more focussed on why there are NO Bahamians whatsoever at senior levels in the bank here (token jobs DON'T count). Moreover, despite official Bahamian labour laws and policy, Royal DOES NOT have ANY formal training or succession plans for Bahamians vis-à-vis the expatriates that are in the country on work permits. I would love to see in writing AND in practise Royal's commitment to train BAHAMIAN employees to "earn their way up the ladder not only in The Bahamas, but also around the world". Does diversity only work in Canada for Royal?

During what we thought were going to be settlement discussions with Royal, Mr. Johnson, who is representing me at this stage of my struggle, was basically warned by the bank’s lawyer that they may proceed with suits against us for our actions. Well, I for one wholeheartedly invite such a move on their part! That way, we can get to the REAL truths here: violation of my CONSTITUTIONAL rights, manipulation of Bahamian labour laws and standards, rank racism, disregard for labour standards of the International Labour Organization, etc., etc., etc. The mere fact that Royal has been officially designated the bank of the Bahamian government is a major concern here since, on the issue of work permits, it is that very government that has been granting work permits willy-nilly to Royal over the past 18-24 months. I believe that serious conflicts of interest exist on both side of that fence.

I invite the press to truly investigate the above and many, many more issues that have yet to be mentioned. Royal seems to be able to silence the press locally. I especially invite professional journalists in Canada and the United States to delve into the myriad of concerns here. In Canada, the U.S. and other OECD countries, a Bahamian bank could NEVER, EVER, act with such arrogance and impunity when it comes to the treatment of the citizens of the host country. Why is it that Royal has been allowed to do so in The Bahamas for so long?

You do have a serious axe to grind. Obviously they would hire you if you were competent for the role. The bank does not operate on some system of Canadians only. They work like all businesses on the principle of making the most profit. Bahamian workers are desirable because they have to pay Canadians more to leave their country and find a place to live, etc, however, obviously they can't find anybody competent to fill the senior roles. Working at as a teller at the bank does not qualify you to manage the bank! And your suggestion that a Bahamian bank would not be "allowed" to operate the same way in Canada is ridiculous. HSBC from Hong Kong works in Canada and there are many people from Hong Kong at the very senior levels there. And a Bahamian bank run by Bahamians in Canada is a hilarious idea. I can just imagine the indifferent and slow staff, the mismanaged funds, and the stolen money from that branch! good luck running such a bank!

There is a truly Bahamian Bank and it is the Commonwealth Bank. If you are a banker of high calibre, you should have no problem getting a job at the Bahamian bank.

I think that many Bahamians have a very old fashioned idea of a job. They think that if they get hired, then they have a rights to that job for as long as they want it. A job is just a job. The company owes you exactly what you get get in your pay cheque, only if you keep your end of the bargain and be a good, diligent, productive worker. The sole reason that a bank or any business exists, is to make money for its owners. It does not exist to provide for its workers. That happens because the work that a worker does, is valuable and sustains the business. A truly valuable worker is never fired, because that would be like draining the lifeblood of the business.

One of the problems in the Bahamas today, is the heavy amount of trade unionism. The unions often go to bat for unproductive workers. That is why the hotels are so expensive to operate. That is why the civil service is so bloated. That is why the economy is going downhill.

The Royal Bank is one of the most profitable businesses in North America. They were voted the number one business in Canada. I personally do not like the Royal Bank, but you can be sure that they got to where they are at by solid business decisions, and not by playing games as implied by the demonstrators. The Bahamas has lost about 25% of its banks. We cannot afford to lose any more.