NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union has elected Kyle Wilson as its new president.
The union that represents workers at Bahamas Power and Light held its election on Thursday, where unofficial results revealed Wilson won the position in a landslide victory
Wilson, who has worked at the power company for 14 years, said he intends to bring forth a new vision for his members, focusing on training and Bahamianization.
“It was the people’s victory, because the people decided they wanted change,” he told Eyewitness News Online.
“They wanted hope and they wanted a new vision for the union and so they decided to go with Wilson.
“Last election it was a very nail-biting election and I came up short. But I came back to the people with a new revised vision of what I want to do for the union and the people were so receptive.”
Wilson noted that the union needs to be rebuilt, from training of members to new funding for the union.
Asked how he plans to advance the union’s relationship with the management of the power company, Wilson said, “I want to sit to the table, listen to the facts and let us all work for what is best for the Bahamian people, and I stress Bahamian people, and strictly for my people.
“Right now I see a lot of non-Bahamians working in the electrical field, working at the power stations, and there are a lot of Bahamians sitting on the block and don’t have nothing to do, and I’m trying to figure out why, what is it, so my mandate is training.
“Let’s bring our Bahamian people, our young men and women and train them and give them opportunities.
“Someone believed in that foreigner and gave him an opportunity and that’s why he is here today.
“…The Bahamas Electrical Corporation is for the Bahamian people…My thing is yes we need some expertise and where we need it, we need them to come in, but we need those experts to train our people”.
Wilson, a power station mechanic, succeeds Paul Maynard, who served as the BEWU president for six years.