The following posted to BU blog Lisa Marshall – Retrenched Worker from the Transport Board by Concern Bajan
On the issue of discredit….can you recall some drivers of the Pelican Terminal went to the Nation to highlight issues of great concern, which not only impacted the workers but general public at large? The Marketing Manager tried to discredit these drivers in the same article, noting that drivers were issued with memo books, which they are to log any defects and have them repaired. She went on to say that if the drivers drove defective units it was solely there choice…..talk about discredit to peoples character.
Mr. Tony Marshall was a moderator on V.O.B call in program “Down to Brass Tacks” at the time…he took it on himself to go into TB, where the Quality Assurance Manager took him to the department – where Ms. Marshall was assigned, and showed him the memos of defects that was made by the drivers. he forgot to show him the ones that were torn to shreds on mornings and the unit issued to another driver, with the remark, “he would drive that”…..destruction of character.
The following sitting of parliament saw former transport minister Mr. Glyne Clarke, stating that many drivers came to him with complaints of being force to drive defective units for fear of victimization. Then minister Mr. John Boyce, in an effort to discredit the former minister, stated, and its a document of parliament, that the drivers are issued with memo books and he knows for a fact that they make many memos. Again, he too forgot to mention to parliament of many of the defects are repaired…. The issue I have with Mr. Clarke’s statements were, when he was minister the same thing was taking place and was never addressed…..even parliamentarians discredit each other.
The BWU once wrote a letter to the then GM of TB, which was in relation to drivers from the outside depots making memos for defects, and the units went to Weymouth, stood there for 2 to 3 days and came back with the very same defect…In response, the GM replied by way of a letter in which the very first paragraph stated, “its not the policy of the Management of the Transport Board to have defective buses on the road..” Yet when these drivers try to do their job in a professional way, the are branded by the same managers as not wanting to work….is this discredit to one’s character of hypocrisy of a person.
Everyday on the call-in programs, people try to discredit these workers, and not one of them have any idea what these workers go through on a daily basis on the job. Then people here try to defend the management for not paying workers their due BY LAW…they are the ones who made the law…these workers were retrenched on the 3rd of March, given letters stating the would be paid all outstanding monies by April 28 – not part of but all…It took workers to go to TB headquarters making noise to get funds the first week of September, with a promise to have the remainder by September 10. Today is September 11, the workers have not yet gotten the remainder…if this was a private company the government would be insisting that the workers be paid.
This is not about which political party you like, it about right and wrong.. In January when questioned by the media, the PM stated that the severance money is not a problem. The Minister of Finance, stated that the monies are there for the retrenched workers and they will be paid in a timely manner. If the monies were there in January, why is it an issue in September for people to be paid what is rightfully theirs,
I dare anyone from the TB to say I am lying about anything I post here….I will deal with the BWU when I am ready….there is a lot more to the TB retrenchment program….
(FP)
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