News

The Meeting of the Finance Sector Unions of the Caribbean was held on the 7th of May in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, with a significant participation of women union members from the banking sector.

The meeting was led by the Vice President of UNI Americas Finance, Trevor Johnson of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union, BIGWU, and by the Regional Director, Guillermo Maffeo. The participants were from ABWU, Antigua & Barbuda Workers, BFSU , Bahamas Financial Service Union, BWU, Barbados Workers Union, BITU, Bustamante Industrial Trade Union of Jamaica, NWU, National Workers Union of Saint Lucia, and the host, BIGWU of Trinidad and Tobago.

Union representatives gave a clear picture of the employment situation of the Caribbean financial system and outlined the problems in each of the islands, especially the current situation with regards to the loss of jobs and the violation of labor conditions in financial multinational entities with presence in the Caribbean, such as the Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and CIBC / FCIB. Participants raised the urgent need for a joint response to the repeated behavior of these entities throughout the region.

They also highlighted the large number of affiliated bank workers on some of the islands like Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas, and strongly emphasized the aim of further increasing membership, focusing particularly on have more participation of young men and women bank workers.

Participants were committed to continue working together and mark the leading role of the Caribbean in the next UNI Americas Finance Conference, and at the 4th Regional Conference to be held in Medellin, Colombia, in December 2016.