Trouble persists for Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) following the removal and subsequent replacement of its board of directors last week, as the union representing line staff at the power company has accused the chief executive officer (CEO) of mistreatment of his members. He is seeking an apology from the senior executive.
President of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) Paul Maynard told Eyewitness News that he wrote BPL CEO Whitney Heastie over his alleged mistreatment of employees, in which he said, Heastie’s actions are “demoralizing” and “unacceptable”.
Maynard claimed that Heastie has used intimidation tactics, such as talking to veteran employees, “worse than a dog” and allegedly shouting at an employee while forcefully banging his hands on the desk.
In the letter, Maynard reminded Heastie that BPL is a unionised organization and that there is a procedure for reprimanding employees.
He called on Heastie to apologize to the employee immediately.
Maynard said he also questioned Heastie on whether or not phone calls and emails are being monitored at BPL.
He added that the nine employees who were fired for failing a drug test were ordered reinstated, however, he said, those orders have gone ignored.
Maynard’s letter warned that the power-company “will be in for a very hard ride” if the union is not respected.
Since that letter was sent, Maynard said the issues, for the most part, are presently being worked out.
“I had a meeting with him (Heastie) and he has agreed to work on those issues and get them resolved right away,” Maynard said.
“That whole thing is being worked on, looked into. They have promised that they are not monitoring those emails etc. I am supposed to meet with the information technology (IT) director, which I will do next week.
“Both union presidents have been summoned to the board to make a presentation tomorrow afternoon. So, we intend to do that. I have to express optimism you know. It can’t go on like this.”
