Unions Criticized for Silence on Controversial Portico Enterprises Agreement

As we noted, the PSU is the first union to speak out on the Definitive Agreement.  The silence has been deafening, and disappointing as the unions are a part of the community that should keep the government accountable.  Love News asked Dean Flowers to weigh in on the unions going mum on such an unprecedented accommodation agreement for Portico Enterprises.

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “In terms of why civil society which includes the union as a social partner of that, why you have not heard anything from primarily the umbrella organizations I think that the question of course would have to be put directly to the president. But I can say that it is not because we are not having a discussion on this issue. In fact both at the local level of the PSU I have reached out to my council to get their comments on it and I’m pretty sure that this matter will be ventilated at the NTUCB general council meeting next week so I am hoping that at that time hopefully a position can be taken by the NTUCB to weigh in on the matter. Sometimes the bureaucracy of how we operate as an organization I can tell you that without the shadow of doubt this matter would have been ventilated and will be ventilated at the upcoming general council meeting of the NTUCB which is slated for next week Saturday. These are primarily national issues but they affect the public service directly and so as a union that represents public officers we of course have our we would weigh in on the matter primarily because we know that when government is unable to meet the its obligation public officers are the first group that are targeted it’s never public sector that they go to demand more it is always the public service that suffers. Public services sufferers and public officers within short changed what is due to them. But like I said I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses for the NTUCB or the Public Service Union for that matter but it is just unfortunately the way how we structure and how we operate as an organization sometimes.”