After three sessions of meetings held on the 14th, 15th and 16th of July, the dispute between the Technical and Allied Workers Union and the Grenada Electricity Services Ltd. remains unresolved.
The dispute concerns the issue of annual vacation leave and whether or not the company can legitimately deem workers who were scheduled for leave, and/or were on annual vacation leave during the lockdown, to be still on leave.
At the close of yesterday’s session, the Minister for Labour, Honourable Peter David, was unable to reach concord between the parties, and made a recommendation for resolution, which has, by communication from the relevant parties, not yet resolved the dispute.
Therefore, under the powers of Sections 45 and 46 of Part 3 of the Labour Relations Act, CAP 175A of the 2010 Revised Laws, the Minister has invited the parties to say whether or not they agree to have the matter determined by an arbitration tribunal.
If such an agreement is forthcoming, then the terms of reference would be mutually determined by the disputing parties, as well as the constituting of the tribunal and the determination of its terms of reference.
The Minister has given the parties up to midday on Tuesday, July 21st, 2020, to respond. Where the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the Minister shall invoke his powers under the aforementioned path, Section 45(3)(b). Under these provisions, the Minister can determine both the terms of reference and the composition of the tribunal.
Meanwhile, the workers who were off the job are expected to resume work as of this afternoon.
