Philipsburg: -----Adviser to the United Federation Union Willy Haize did not mingle with words when he reacted to statements made by president of the Windward Island Civil Servant Union (WICSU) William Reed who accused him of conspiracy.
Haize said Reed is angry because the workers of St. Maarten Tender Services (SMTS) sent a letter to their employer informing him that he should no longer pay their union dues to the WICSU/PSU alleging that the WICSU/PSU has failed to properly represent them. Haize also provided a letter that Reed drafted and gave one of the employees of SMTS to sign, where the employee is apologizing to her employer considering that she worked for the company for over 20 years. According to Haize, the long time employee refused to sign the letter drafted by Reed and as such, their working relationship has deteriorated. Haize also provided the list of grievances the workers have with the WICSU/PSU, which was signed by the shop stewards. According to the grievances Reed told the workers, they needed to protect their jobs because they are foreigners, and that they needed to better budget their monies. The SMTS workers are asking management to increase their hourly rate from $3.00 to $5.00 considering the fact that their has been an increase in cost of living. They claim Reed called a strike and to date they do not know the legal consequences of their actions. The workers also claimed that Reed has been an embarrassment to them and has been holding private meetings with their employer. The workers said that Reed made an agreement with management of SMTS for their retroactive pay without their permission and instead of receiving the $2000.00 they are owed they received a mere $800 which was sent to the Union’s account. The SMTS workers are now demanding to know where the balance of their monies is and who kept it.
Haize said when the SMTS workers approached him he personally called Reed and offered to assist him with the conflict but Reed he said told him that the workers at SMTS are foreigners and there is no need to fight for them. Haize also provided documents submitted to him by the SMTS shop stewards who said that Reed made the same argument when they expressed their concerns to him. The shop stewards also alleged that Reed is never prepared and does not even go into negotiations with agenda points. They further alleged that Reed signed a Collective Labour Agreement with their employer without their permission all of which they are asking the UFA to contest.
Haize said that he hopes that Reed can support his statements when it comes to the tip box and the amount of monies the SMTS workers are collecting. The UFA adviser said Reed does not know anything about unionism and he should stay in the kitchen as a cook. As per the conspiracy theory brought forward by Reed, Haize said he wears two caps, one for the United Front where he represents heavy equipments and the other as an advisor to the UFA. Haize made clear that he has never represented Connecting Waves and felt that Reed should get his facts straight.
Haize said the WICSU/PSU president began campaigning for the referendum which is yet to be decided on. The UFA advisor said he is giving Reed a long rope because has information where the WICSU/PSU has been losing its members on all three of the islands for the lack of representation. The unionist said the WICSU/PSU is having internal problems and as such, they are not able to adequately represent their members. Haize also accused Reed of making deals with the employers that would personally benefit him instead of his members from whom he is collecting dues.
