Darwin Telemaque, CEO of the Antigua Port Authority, has welcomed the recent shift to a single union representing port workers, assuring that the collective bargaining process will proceed without disruption.
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) is for the first time the only union representing workers at the Port.
This comes after workers voted to decertify the Antigua Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) and overwhelmingly elected the ABWU as their exclusive bargaining agent.
The CEO said the move aligns with global Labour trends.
“It is natural to have union representation at most workplaces in Antigua, but more so globally. You tend to find ports represented by unions. However, in some cases, you have two or multiple and, in our case, we are moving from a multiple arrangement to one,” he stated.
Telemaque said the collective bargaining process will continue, and they will be doing so with one union.
“We hope that the interests of the staff, the organization, and the broader concerns of the nation are always kept in line with the best expectation, and we hope to continue in the spirit of cooperation and compromise as we try to position the staff in the best possible way within the organization.”
When asked if there are any current challenges at the port, Telemaque said, “The idea of managing in general is difficult but is also quite rewarding. There are always moments where you have areas to be negotiated, and outcomes that you are satisfied with.”
He said he will continue to work towards ensuring that they have better outcomes.
“And to the end that we do, our staff and the port ecosystem, along with the nation, would be the beneficiary of that. There is nothing that we are—I mean, the challenges of management are the challenges of management, and we have to rise to ensure that we negotiate the best possible outcome, and we are going to continue doing that,” he assured.
Telemaque was re-elected unopposed as chairman of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean, (PMAC) at the Association’s Annual General Meeting which was held in Curacao. Telemaque will be in the role for another three-year term.
