11 May 2014
Dear Hon. Hubert Hughes,
We are writing you out of great concern for the status of the proposed Labour Code. To date it seems to be dormant and we fear that it becomes forgotten. In addition we heard some statements on the radio which brings concern to the future of Unionism in Anguilla, thus requiring clarification from you.
It is our understanding from the Labour Department in 2013, that our comments and reviews pertaining to the proposed Labour Code should have been submitted before September to finish the vetting process. The Labour Department during this time conducted many Town Hall meetings for the public to air their views so that the consultant would edit the draft and submit a revised proposal. The Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union was the only body to make recommendations in a formal manner before the deadline of September 2013. The Anguilla Bar Association (ABA) in accordance to their agreement with the Labour Department received this revised labour code on the 2nd of September, 2013.
It is pertinent to note that the ABA conducted a Public Seminar in May 2013 prior to our reformation as a Union. During this Public Seminar it is understood that not many employees or their representatives attended despite the ABA efforts to invite civic bodies and hotels on the island. This turnout was also seen during the vetting process where we see too much emotion and no sound effort to vet the code. For example we spoke to Ms. Lolita Davis-Richardson concerning moving the code along. Ms. Davis-Richardson is of the opinion that it should be vetted some more, as it contains elements that is “damaging,” to Anguilla and Anguillians. We requested her to provide Us with this evidence and to this date we still do not have anything tangible to conclude her opinion. We have heard your administration repeating and bellowing this position as well and just like Ms. Davis-Richardson, Mr. Hadyn Hughes and Mr. Patrick Hanley are yet to still produce this evidence for this opinion.
In recent political campaign speeches we also heard Dr. Ellis Webster on Kool FM paraphrasing that Unions is something Anguillians should aspire to, perhaps in the future. In another event Mr. Elkin Richardson urged the Hotel workers to show they are united by voting for the AUM in the upcoming elections.
It is imperative for Us to inform you that this Union stands to be the first Union in the Caribbean where the formation was not based on some form of physical confrontation between employees and employers. Unlike the other Caribbean islands, in Anguilla no political party ever emerged from a Union, and we intend and will guard that such never happens. It is our intention that this Union be a model in the Caribbean for true democracy.
We fear that your younger members of your Administration have lost sight of the value of Unions even though there are recent examples as in Barbados where the Union there was able to ensure that the government made prudent decisions pertaining to some workers.
We would like to emphasize that the postponement of passing the Labour Code is seriously hampering our development as a Union. We cannot say it is intentional as we exercised patience not letting you to know of the damages we suffered thus far. We already have lost a business unit due to this and received many statements from the public of their refusal to join because the code, “will not be passed.” Our President is being told that he is naïve as he does not know the characters involved, responsible for passing the code.
That said, it has been eight months since the vetting process was finished. We expect this code to be passed before September 2014 and would like the following as a precursor to the passing:
1) A chronology of the code
2) A final draft (One where the AG actually made changes based on the recommendations during the vetting process)
3) An Official Date that the code will be gazetted.
4) A public statement of the AUM party as to Unions and their future in Anguilla
We do hope that your legacy of urging our people to unite would be realized by providing the tools and means for them to do such. It is only then that our dreams and ambitions can be achieved, when we see our people enact your sound advice of joining the Union.
Respectfully Yours,
Agnes Payne-Fleming Yusuf Abdul Ali
General Secretary President
Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
