Public Workers Credit Union Hit by Industrial Action

Many of the staff of the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Limited have been off the job this morning attending a meeting with the Barbados Workers Union over a number of grievances, including pay.

Starcom Network News understands today’s action by a significant number of the group’s roughly three hundred staff has severely affected its operations with only the Belmont and Carlton, Black Rock credit union branches open while offering only limited service.

Sources close to the staff tell Starcom Network News the dissatisfaction among the employees has been building for several years ever since the credit union commenced what it called a redesign that streamlined a number of posts and effected staff in various ways, including pay.

The staffers tell Starcom the dissatisfaction has intensified over the past year and the employees have finally had enough – many feeling themselves underpaid and overworked and some passed over for promotions.

Meantime, the BWU says over a hundred and twenty members of the three divisions of the credit union group are off the job.

Employees of the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union, Capita Financial Services and Capita Insurance Brokers were in the meeting with the Barbados Workers union and management to address their grievances.

Deputy General Secretary of the BWU, Dwaine Paul, briefing journalists at Solidarity House, said there are long standing issues that needed to be addressed urgently.