Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017
166 The Union Division After the collapse of the Association, the staff were determined to create a division of the BWU. The senior economists were offered a substantial salary increase to stay out of the Union but refused it in a show of solidarity with the rest of the staff as unionisation became more and more a possibility. During August 1985, a number of staff members joined the BWU. The Bank was officially informed in September 1985, by letter from the BWU general secretary, that 101 staff members had joined the BWU and it was claiming formal recognition as the workers’ representative. The Bank replied that it was willing to recognise the BWU as representative of employees in the categories up to and including clerical officers and junior secretaries only. However, after several meetings, the intervention of the chief labour officer, the use of the print media to put the Union’s case and threats of strike action, an agreement was reached on April 1, 1986. The first president of the Bank’s Union Division was Ronald Prescod, a senior economist in the Research Department, who served until June 1988, when he was succeeded by Washbrook Bayne. After its formation, the Bank’s Union Division was very supportive of the BWU, as evidenced by its participation in the annual May Day celebrations and other events sponsored by the Union. The Sports and Cultural Club With the demise of the Staff Association, a majority of employees agreed that the social aspects of staff relations required a separate organisation. The Sports and Cultural Club was therefore inaugurated on August 14, 1987 by General Manager, ‘Teddy’ Griffith. In June 1988, Janice Marshall was elected as the first president. In its early years, the new group was very active, taking part in several of the BWU’s sporting and other events and undertaking projects
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