Trade unions remain relevant

Kertiste Augustus

A leading trade union here says it is continuing to give effective representation to its members, despite a perception that the country’s labor movement is today almost toothless.

The Waterfront and Allied Workers Union (WAWU) boasts of having a membership of 2,300 at the moment.

Its Secretary/Treasurer Kertiste Augustus, a former top official of the Caribbean Congress of Labor, agrees that the trade union movement “is not as vocal, and not as militant as it used to be before”.

However he says one of the contributing factors is because “the contribution and the participation of the members is not what it used to be before”.

“So therefore you are not having that visibility that used to be a feature in times past,” Augustus told Dominica News Online.

He contends that militancy has been replaced by a maturity among the movement’s leaders who now realize that positive results can be attained without having to resort to all out industrial action.

He says in the case of WAWU, that union is making serious progress in terms of being able to increase its membership.

Augustus told DNO that his union has recently been able to attract two new groups of workers, with the staff of DOMLEC (Dominica Electricity Services) back in the WAWU family.

Reeling out a list of inroads made recently, the union leader said “we have renewed agreements for Fort Young  Hotel, for Dominica Coconut Products, for Raffoul and Company, and GreenHill Retirement Home”.

“So we are not only negotiating, but we are in fact concluding and getting increased benefits for our members,” Augustus said, explaining that he would be highlighting those matters in a May Day address at a WAWU function on Monday (May 7).

“So the trade unions continue to be relevant in terms of adjusting the rates of pay of our membership and giving the representation where necessary,” The WAWU official said.

He also indicated that WAWU “has no less than about seven matters before tribunals for determination”.

WAWU intends honoring  three “deserving” members at its Labor Day function.

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6 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    May 7, 2012

    keep fooling your self starring….you have already sold all the power of the union for self benefit…soul-less unions
    can’t be relevant!

  2. HELAS!
    May 4, 2012

    mr augustus please address the minimum wage of $5:50 while most chinese stores pay below that and check the hours of work!!!!!!!

  3. True Dat
    May 4, 2012

    That is definitely not facts. Every thing in WAWU is pure politics and Biasness. Go back to the drawing board and put your house in order. It is nice that new people is coming on Board, yes. Is high time WAWU gets new blue and a voice like Thomas Letang.

  4. May 4, 2012

    I DONT AGREE WITH KERTISTE,MATURITY MY FOOT.THE WAWU HAD A PERSONAL AND POLITICAL DISLIKE FOR THE PRIME MINISTER AT THE TIME.WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT IN DAYS GONE BY ,IT WAS THE FREEDOM PARTY THAT WAS IN OPPOSITION AND PAT JOHN WAS IN POWER.WE MUST NOT FOR GET THAT KERTISTE AND SAVARIN TWO TOP BRASS IN THE UNIONS REPRESENTED THE FREEDOM PARTY IN GENERAL ELECTIONS. WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT THEIR WAS A POLITICAL MARRIAGE BETWEEN THE PRESENT LABOR PARTY AND THE FREEDOM PARTY. WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT IT WAS PATRICK JOHN WHO LEFT A TOP JOB AT HHVW TO FORM WAWU AND WHILE HE WAS PRIME MINISTER, STRIKES WERE BEING POURED ON HIS ADMINISTRATION LIKE RAIN.SINCE THEM,HOW MANY MAJOR STRIKES HAVE WE HAD IN DOMINICA.

    • Anonymous
      May 4, 2012

      You are right about that. Everyone seems to forget the CSA and WAWu crippled the country.

  5. Labor specialist
    May 4, 2012

    Mr. Augustus, you are on the right track but you alone cannot bring the labour movement to where it is suppose to be in DA. I believe it should begin with the lazy labour department. thts what happens when we have square pegs in wrong holes… but Mr Augustus do what you can, afterall you have worked outside DA where you have seen the works of real labour relations

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