Conflict brewing between
TelEm management, workers
Workers accused of insubordination
PHILIPSBURG--A conflict is brewing between management of TelEm Group of Companies and some of its workers that escalated Thursday when some employees walked out of a meeting called by President Director Edward Benjamin.
The workers, one of whom sits on the union’s board, staged the walkout after they were told that it was not necessary for additional union members to be present in the meeting to discuss an employer/employee issue.
Benjamin said the conflict stemmed from some TelNet and TelEm workers who were refusing to work within a new efficient structure put in place by their new manager, and accused the workers of insubordination.
He also accused a few members of St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) of “intentionally seeking confrontation” with management by constantly raising “petty” issues and insisting that management reward non-functional employees.
However, SMCU President Stanley Lint denied the allegations and said the issue could be one of miscommunication between management and staff.
Benjamin told The Daily Herald Wednesday that he would not be surprised if there were some form of industrial action within the company soon, because the meeting had been scheduled to discuss employee grievances. He said industrial action was not conducive to the company at this stage and maintained that his door was always open to address workers’ concerns.
In an invited comment, Lint assured that no industrial action was in the pipeline. He noted though that the union had submitted some unresolved issues to its legal adviser for advice.
Benjamin said a new manager had been put in place at TelNet six months ago to make the company more efficient and to run another department at TelEm. He said the new manager had been acting under his guidance, was doing a good job and making some positive strides, but some workers were against the new structured measures put in place at the company and were contesting them.
Some of the problems include workers failing to report to work and failing to carry out assignments given to them. Management has been putting mechanisms in place to curb these practices.
Some workers who failed to adhere to the regulations were reprimanded in the past and some four have been suspended so far. Some 10 of them went as far as to sign a letter saying they had no confidence in the new manager’s ability to function in this capacity and indicated that they wanted him removed. TelNet has 11 workers.
Benjamin called a meeting with these workers yesterday for them to further explain their concerns. The workers, one of whom was an SMCU board member, showed up, but declined to continue the meeting without the presence of other union representatives. Benjamin said the matter was an employee/employer issue and it was not necessary for other union representatives to be present. At this stage the employees walked out of the meeting.
“If this is not seeking confrontation then I don’t know what it,” Benjamin said. “These workers don’t want to work in a structured manner. They want to continue working in a wild, wild west situation.”
He said TelNet had been performing badly in recent months and the company was at a critical stage of improving its services and promoting efficiency. He said it was important that employees be part of this process.
He claimed too that a few members of the union had been seeking confrontation with management and in some cases wanted management to reward non-functional employees.
“For a long time some members have been seeking confrontation with management on certain things and I have been trying to accommodate them and avoid confrontation,” he said during an interview at his office at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities yesterday. “This is not the time for confrontation. Now is a time to turn TelNet around.”
Lint denied this. He said the union would never insist that management reward non-functioning employees. He said it was a coincidence that a board member was also an employee of TelNet and it could easily be assumed that he was instigating the problem.
He said there was an issue at TelNet and other departments that had been brought to management’s attention, but had not been addressed to date, and as a result some employees had decided to raise it with management. He said it could also be a problem of miscommunication between management and employees.
He said the union is cognisant of TelNet’s financial situation and wanted to see the company perform well.
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