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The College of The Bahamas :: Oakes Field :: P.O. Box N-4912 :: Nassau, The Bahamas
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COB Responds to UTEB Strike Threat;
Contingency Planning Committee
President Hodder addresses the media during a press conference in the A-block boardroom.
25 March 2010
College President Janyne M. Hodder has implored the Union of Tertiary Educators of The Bahamas [UTEB] to continue to work with The College in a collegial manner and negotiate all remaining contract clauses in the face of a threat from UTEB to strike as of April 19th if an industrial agreement is not reached by April 16th.
Since January, there have been 53 negotiation meetings and 52 clauses have been signed, many of which will improve working conditions for faculty. There are 32 remaining clauses on which The College and UTEB have yet to agree.
President Hodder told members of the media at a press conference held at the Oakes Field Campus on Thursday, March 25th that those remaining clauses speak directly to the institution's capacity to continue to build, sustain and deliver on standards of academic excellence.
"They include clauses on appointments, duties and responsibilities of faculty, promotions as well as all financial matters. We need to negotiate these clauses, to listen to one another and to share a common vision of what a faculty career should be. This requires sustained effort. We must build excellence and, as everyone knows, you do not build excellence by running away from effort," she said.
"Given the time it has taken for the Union to agree on the matters we have already dealt with, we do not see how we can meet the deadline now imposed without running away from effort. We cannot, because of an unrealistic deadline, abandon discussions of matters critical to the future of the College and essential to the creation of The University of The Bahamas. We must have appropriate and effective negotiations on the entire agreement, not only on some clauses. Failure to do so is not fair, not good and not right."
In a letter sent to President Hodder dated March 22nd, UTEB President Jennifer Isaacs-Dotson noted that the membership unanimously voted on a resolution that stated if there is no lockdown with negotiations completed by the last day of classes [April 16th] then the strike will begin on the first day of final exams [April 19th].
According to President Hodder, the union is demanding a lock down in spite of the fact that negotiations are scheduled on a nearly daily basis and in spite of the fact that over the past months, the Union's negotiating team has repeatedly taken lengthy caucuses because it came to meetings unprepared to negotiate the items which had been prepared and submitted beforehand.
"This request is tantamount to asking us to rush through matters which require serious engagement and negotiations. We will not abandon these matters just to meet this newly announced deadline. Further, at this time of national financial restraint and high unemployment, the Union is making unclear and unrealistic financial demands," Ms. Hodder said.
"We have just been informed to expect further budget reductions next year; in these circumstances, it seems clear that any salary improvements will have to be paid for by increases in productivity. This too requires discussion and understanding. We are asking the Union to revise its position and to continue to work with us in a collegial fashion and negotiate all remaining clauses. The Union speaks of priority; indeed, it is because this agreement is so critical to The College and the futures of every student that will walk our halls that we must ensure that it is done right. We can do this and we should."
Dr. Earla Carey-Baines, lead negotiator for The College, addresses the media while President Hodder looks on.
The College's Lead Negotiator Dr. Earla Carey Baines, Dean of Faculty of Liberal and Fine Arts, further explained that since January 6th to the present, negotiations have been intense with both sides meeting on 53 days out of 79 in sessions lasting from three to five hours.
"We have done a tremendous amount of work over the past 12 weeks. This success we attribute to the commitment of the members of both negotiating teams; both teams have focused considerable efforts and energies to ensure an industrial agreement that is in the best interest of all," said Dr. Carey-Baines.
"We also attribute this success to the fact that we are engaged in meaningful discussions. The signing of 52 clauses clearly demonstrates that the approach we have been using since January is an effective one. We have some 32 clauses remaining, clauses that deal with criteria for appointment, promotion, duties and responsibilities, annual performance review and financials, clauses that are crucial to the life of our faculty and that impact the quality and integrity of our institution."
She urged the union to continue to negotiate in good faith.
"For the Union to ask us to rush the process by unilaterally setting an arbitrary deadline of April 16 is counter-productive, We have a demonstrated approach to success, we need to continue this approach to complete negotiations and sign an agreement," she added. "As a result, we encourage the Union to continue to engage the process, to continue to meet, discuss and negotiate the remaining clauses free from arbitrary deadlines and in good faith."
Senior COB administrators who are also members of the negotiating team were also present for the press conference.
College administrators said they were nonetheless preparing for a faculty strike with the primary goal of mitigating the negative effects this action will have on students. The College has established a contingency planning committee to prepare students for the eventuality and to keep them and the public informed.
For the moment, classes continue as usual and The College expects no disruption in the services offered at this time. All students are encouraged to make use of their College email account and to activate it, if they have not already done so, by visiting MIS services. The College's email system will be the primary method of communicating directly with students.
President Hodder added, "If the Union does carry out its threat to
withdraw services at the beginning of final exam week, we shall be keeping students and the executive officers of the College of The Bahamas Union of Students well informed of all contingency
measures. We regret any inconvenience this may cause our students and ask for their collaboration as we try to resolve these matters. We also expect faculty to continue to assume their current duties, including advising and submitting coursework grades. We will be monitoring the execution of normal duties for any sign that the strike action has been advanced and has begun."
You may read the full text of the President's remarks at this press conference on the President's Page.
Office of Communication
Tel: 302-4304
Email:communication@cob.edu.bs
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The College of The Bahamas
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