WICSU accuses casino
of union busting tactics
PHILIPSBURG--Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU) has accused the management of Hollywood Casino of applying “union busting” tactics to break workers away from the union.
WICSU/PSU President William Reed says the casino has been deducting union dues from the workers’ salaries since February, shortly after they had approached WICSU/PSU for representation, but has not been handing the money over to the union. He said proof of the deduction is on the workers’ salary slips.
Every month, each of the union’s roughly 15 members pay approximately NAf. 25 in union dues. This means the union may be owed around NAf. 1,500, if the claims are correct.
The company, Reed said, has also been offering workers contracts with “far fewer” benefits than their colleagues at Rouge et Noir because they have taken steps to have union representation.
While some of the workers have “buckled” and accepted the contracts, the union President said many others have not.
“They are offering a pension plan on the first page of the contract thinking that the workers will buckle. A few accepted it but they did not ask for a second opinion on the matter. The contract is a catch. It is a game that is being played with them.”
The casino is also offering non-unionised workers 26 vacation days while maintaining 16 days for unionised workers, Reed told The Daily Herald on Sunday.
He said all these measures are intended to break workers away from the union and drive the union out of the casino.
Reed said he had spoken to one of the representatives of the owners who promised to look into the matter but the dues have still not been handed over.
He said management should start handing over the dues from the roughly 15 members at once. Reed said he will make one more attempt to urge management to hand over the dues, adding that if this is not done the union will “put the matter in the hands of its attorney.
“This is a horrible situation. It’s not legal but they are intimidating the workers,” he said.
He said Hollywood and Rouge et Noir exchange workers regularly, are both operated by the same owner and should offer the same benefits.
Since Hollywood is operated by the same owner as Rouge et Noir, whose workers are already represented by WICSU/PSU, there is no need for a referendum at Hollywood, Reed contends.
He condemned the general abuse and intimidation of workers. “There are many companies on St. Maarten abusing workers and using these types of tactics even though there are labour laws and there’s a Labour Department. These things are still going on and people are getting away with abusing workers at will.
“When workers are unionised, the union can sound an alarm but there are hundreds of workers suffering extreme abuse at the hands of their employers and there is no place where they can get satisfaction because at times, if they go to Labour Department to file a complaint, before they get back to the job, the employer already knows they have been at the Department.
“It’s an unhealthy situation and I want to stop these practices.”
