Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
THE NATIONAL Workers Union (NWU) is accusing the new management of Shell, Cool Petroleum Holdings Limited, of being anti-union.
The company, which is jointly owned by the Joe Issa-led Cool Corp. Limited and Trinidad-based Neal & Massy Industrial Gas Holdings Limited, bought out the 56 service stations in Jamaica late last year.
Danny Roberts, vice president of NWU, told The Gleaner that the new management advised the workers last week that union dues would no longer be deducted from their salaries.
BARGAINING RIGHTS POLL
He said the workers were further instructed that if they wanted union representation they would have to go through the process of a bargaining rights poll.
"That for us is most disturbing and is a betrayal of the union," he said.
Mr. Roberts said the three unions, NWU, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), representing the 50 to 60 workers, would be having a joint workers meeting today to further discuss the matter.
CLAIM DISMISSED
However, Angela Hamel-Smith, group manager of human resources at the Neal and Massy Holdings Limited, has dismissed the claim that the company is anti-union.
Mrs. Hamel-Smith said the company, on the advice of its lawyers, was informed that under the laws of Jamaica, the union representation of workers ceases on the sale of a company.
She said the company has taken the decision to take that route. "We are not anti-union, we the Neal and Massy group has a long history in Trinidad and Tobago and in Guyana, dealing very successfully in a very non-confrontational manner with our employees' representatives," she said.
Mrs. Hamel-Smith said that if the workers wish for union representation, the company would not oppose their decisions.
The new company took over ownership of Shell on Friday.
