APUA employees threaten to take industrial action

Workers at the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) have warned the management of the statutory corporation that they will take industrial action if a dispute over salary negotiations is not resolved today.
Chester Hughes, deputy general secretary of the Antigua Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) confirmed yesterday that the workers met and voted to serve the company with a notice of industrial action if a voluntary resolution is not reached.
Hughes told our newsroom that the matter stems from the company’s misinterpretation of an agreement on salaries which both parties signed in 2017.
The union walked out of a meeting with the management of the utility company Wednesday afternoon when the two sides failed to reach a compromise.
Reading from the 2017 agreement, the union official stated, “It is agreed that an increase of 7 percent over the life of the contract be administered. The said increase will be inclusive of a 2.5 percent contributory thrift fund.”
He continued: “The following schedule is being proposed: Year one – 2 percent; year 2 – 2.5 percent; year three – 2.5, and in bracket it says contributory thrift should commence as of April, 1, 2018.”
(More in today’s Daily Observer)