Former AT&LU official crosses the floor to join the talent pool at ABWU and is welcomed by General Secretary Massiah

Hugh Joseph, a former officer of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) has joined the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) team as an Industrial Relations Officer.

The AT&LU’s former general secretary bumped heads with Union President Wigley George on February 22, when the latter disrupted a meeting called by Joseph.

Now, Joseph has crossed the floor and joined the rival union, with an intention to “support and advance … the efforts of the ABWU, as we seek to improve lives and lend to the overall development of the working populace ….”

He says his life’s work has been to uplift ordinary people and that his new role is a continuation of that service.

Joseph brings to the ABWU over two decades of experience in the Trade Union Movement.

He studied at the Caribbean Institute for Social Education Foundation, the Barbados Workers’ Union Labour College and the Barbados National Productivity Council; and he also completed studies in Labour Relations and Law at Ruskin College in Oxford, England.

He has also served on several regional and international bodies, as well as on the National Labour Board, the Social Security Board, and the National Minimum Wage Advisory Committee.

David Massiah, General Secretary of the ABWU, says “the Union continues to build capacity in order to meet the needs of a growing and evolving workforce.”

Massiah says the organization recognizes and values talented individuals, and there is no doubt that Joseph will enhance the pool of talent assembled at the Union.

Joseph’s assignments will include the handling of grievances and responsibility for workplaces and undertaking negotiations.