Transport Workers Demand Fair Promotions, End to Unilateral Reassignments and Urgent Action on Workplace Safety

Workers across Antigua and Barbuda's transport sector have raised a raft of serious workplace grievances at a recent Antigua and Barbuda Workers' Union section meeting — including the opaque and inconsistent handling of promotions, the unilateral creation of new job categories without union consultation and deteriorating equipment that is placing workers at daily risk.

The concerns were aired during a meeting of the ABWU's Transport Section, which brought together shop stewards and members from the Antigua Port Authority, the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority, the Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board, and WIOC.

Promotion Criteria Still Withheld

One of the most persistent grievances involved the absence of clearly documented pathways for career progression within job categories. Employees at one workplace reported that management had previously agreed to provide the criteria for promotion but had failed to do so within the agreed timeframe — leaving workers without any objective basis for understanding how advancement decisions are being made or challenging them when they appear unfair.

ABWU General Secretary David Massiah said the union will issue the company a new deadline to produce the information. The problem, he noted, was far from isolated — uncertainty surrounding career progression emerged as a common concern across multiple workplaces represented at the meeting.

Alleged Union-Busting Through Unilateral Reassignments

Perhaps the most serious allegations to emerge involved the unilateral creation of new job categories and the reassignment of employees to different roles without any consultation with the union. Representatives from at least three workplaces described multiple instances where employers had introduced new classifications or altered employees' duties without engaging the bargaining agent.

More troubling still, some workers alleged that they had been specifically transferred into positions outside the bargaining unit — raising the concern that the moves were deliberate attempts to erode union membership and weaken the union's collective bargaining strength.

Massiah said such allegations demand thorough investigation. "Such allegations must be thoroughly investigated to determine whether they amount to attempts at union-busting," he said.

ABWU President Kem Riley was direct about the union's non-negotiable position. "Any new category of worker must first be discussed with the union," Riley said, noting that the collective bargaining agreement contains clear provisions requiring consultation on matters that affect bargaining unit employees.

Experience Rewarded — for New Hires, Not Veterans

Workers at one organisation raised a particularly galling pattern: long-tenured employees being repeatedly tasked with training newly hired staff, only to see those newer employees promoted while the experienced workers who provided the training remain at the same grade.

The complaint points to a broader culture at the workplace in which institutional knowledge and seniority are apparently not being rewarded in the way the workers expected when they joined and built their careers at the organisation.

Massiah encouraged workers to report such issues as they arise rather than accumulating grievances until section meetings. "We all have a role to play in resisting these practices," he said. "The union can only act on issues that are brought to our attention in a timely manner."

Aging Equipment Poses Safety Risks

Occupational health and safety rounded out the concerns raised during the meeting, with workers at one institution reporting that aging equipment continues to pose daily safety risks despite repeated complaints to management.

Massiah was unequivocal. "There is an immediate need for us to have an engagement with that company," he said. "Workers need to have proper equipment to work with. Safe working conditions are not optional."

The Transport Section meeting forms part of the ABWU's preparations for its 59th Annual Delegates' Conference, scheduled for September. Coming on the heels of recent collective bargaining wins at Hammock Cove, Epicurean, and Vernon G. Edwards, and alongside an active campaign to protect workers in the pending CIBC Caribbean and Butterfield merger, the transport sector meeting underscores the breadth of the ABWU's current workload — and the scale of workplace challenges still facing organised labour across Antigua and Barbuda.