After six months of intense negotiations and reaching the stage of deadlock, the talks between the Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (CIWU) and Jonas Browne and Hubbard G’da Ltd. have finally seen significant progress.
The breakthrough came following crucial recommendations from the Minister for Labour, Senator Claudette Joseph, aimed at resolving the dispute over salary increases and profit-sharing for employees.
The Ministry of Labour’s proactive involvement has been instrumental in advancing the discussions between CIWU and Hubbard’s, addressing the primary issues of salary increments and the formula for profit-sharing.
According to Industrial Officer at the union, George Mason, the company has proposed a 19% salary increase for 2023-2024 but was contingent on altering the existing profit-sharing formula to a new one.
The new formula seeks to allow the company to take a share based on the average capital invested, which Mason argued would effectively “decrease the amount that remains when they (the company) take their share.”
Under the current arrangement, the company receives 3.75% of all net profits before taxes as issued share capital, while the workers get the remaining 25%.
Despite welcoming the salary increase, CIWU is strongly opposed to the proposed changes to the profit-sharing formula.
“They wanted to bring the salaries up to the market, we said thank you…but leave the (profit-sharing) formula where it is,” Mason said in an interview with THE NEW TODAY last Friday.
He pointed out that Minister Joseph’s recommendations highlighted that the existing profit-sharing formula should remain unchanged.
“She (Min. Joseph) directly said (that) based on the simulation they (the company) did for her, she saw that the profit sharing was dwindling year by year and there is no guarantee that an average of three (3) percent would be paid going forward based on the economy,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction with the Minister’s stance, Mason emphasised that altering the profit-sharing formula could set a dangerous precedent for other profit-sharing companies, potentially leading to widespread complications in future negotiations.
“If the Minister had agreed to the company’s request, companies that have profit-sharing in their agreements would have run to the ministry to have it changed because the ministry would have set a precedent. So, we are happy that the government decided to keep it where it is,” he remarked.
The next step in the negotiation process remains contingent on the acceptance of the Minister’s recommendations by both parties.
Should either side reject these recommendations, the matter will proceed to arbitration to resolve the deadlock.
As of now, the employees and stakeholders await the final decision, hopeful that a fair and beneficial agreement will soon be reached.