Latin American trade union alliance denounces anti-worker conduct at ICTS company Liberty
The UNI Liberty Latin America Trade Union Alliance denounced anti worker conduct at its Cable & Wireless/FLOW operations throughout the Caribbean. The Alliance, composed of trade unions representing workers from Cable & Wireless, FLOW, and other corporate brands in the Caribbeanmet in Kingston, Jamaica on April 9-10, 2019 to address the deteriorating working conditions throughout the company.
While the Company continues to roll out attractive products into the market space the union Alliance calls on management at Cable & Wireless, FLOW and other Liberty Latin America brands and companies to:
- Provide equal pay for work of equal value, and not use mergers and acquisitions as an excuse to lower standards;
- End outsourcing of core functions of the companies that takes good jobs out of the Caribbean to countries with lower working conditions and without the protections of trade unions;
- Stop retrenchments and pay-cuts that threaten the quality of service that customers expect, even when paying higher costs for services;
- Respect all national laws and labor practices in the countries where they operate;
- Engage in regional dialogue with the UNI Liberty Latin America
Liberty Latin America is using an aggressive program of contracting, outsourcing and offshoring to move work away from unionized, good paying jobs into low wage positions where workers have lessprotections of their fundamental worker rights. At a time when unemployment in Jamaica is trending in the correct direction, Liberty Latin America is reversing this advantageous position by outsourcing and offshoring to countries with lower labor standards.
Unions representing the company’s workers in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Lucia are present at this first Liberty Latin America Trade Union Alliance meeting. The eight unions in the Alliance will carry a motion to the UNI ICTS World Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2019 where unions representing 3 million communications, IT, and services workers from throughout the world will pledge support for the Alliance demands.
The UNI Liberty Latin America Trade Union Alliance calls on the company to enter into good faith dialogue as had been the prior practice in Cable & Wireless before the acquisition by Liberty Latin America. Only through dialogue that promotes fair and stable jobs can Liberty Latin America retain high quality employees that provide the service that the public deserves.