Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
THE BUSTAMANTE Industrial Trade Union (BITU) has served a 14-day ultimatum on the St. Ann Parish Council, demanding that the council convene a meeting with the union to discuss the dismissal of an employee.
The employee, Berkland Brown, who was employed as a cleaner at the Brown's Town market, was dismissed by the council on October 25 for reasons which the union is claiming are still unknown.
The BITU area supervisor George Nicholas is warning that if the council fails to respond to this ultimatum by the expiry date on November 24, the union will be instructing employees at the market to go on strike. "I have been trying to arrange a meeting with the parish council to discuss the dismissal of this employee, but with no success. The council's acting secretary manager Claudia Carter told me that no meeting can be held before next month, and I think this is unfair to Mr. Brown", Mr. Nicholas said.
But speaking in an interview with The Gleaner, Tuesday November 15, chairman of the St. Ann Parish Council, Delroy Giscombe, said Mr. Brown is fully aware of the reasons for his termination and that the council will not be intimidated by threats of strike.
Mayor Giscombe pointed out that Mr. Brown, who was a contract worker, frequently abandoned his job at the market to do other jobs elsewhere and had been warned several times about his actions.
He said Mr. Brown was summoned to meetings on at least two occasions and that during one of the meetings, he admitted the charge. Mayor Giscombe said that Mr. Brown told the meeting that he could not survive on the job at the market alone, and therefore had to be doing other jobs. He described the position taken by the union as unnecessary.
