By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Ambassador Lionel Hurst said that Prime Minister Gaston Browne did not allege in his Labour Day speech that the Antigua and Barbuda Worker’s Union (ABWU) was taking bribes from hotels.
On Monday, the Prime Minister told attendees at the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union rally that the “Workers’ Union and the leadership of that Union have sold out to the hoteliers in this country.”
In his speech, he claimed that the ABWU had used the hotel workers “for political gain” and said that “the representatives take money on the side and do not push the hoteliers to increase the pay”.
On Wednesday, the ABWU issued a statement lambasting the Prime Minister for what they described as “mischievous” and a “deflection”.
Yesterday, the Cabinet further discussed the Labour Day rallies put on by the various unions in which the Prime Minister’s speech was noted, claiming “Prime Minister and Leader of the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party challenged the trade union which represents 4,000 hotel workers, to be more aggressive in securing greater benefits for its paying members”.
However, when questioned further about the Prime Minister Browne’s comments and whether he had specific evidence of the allegations, Hurst told reporters at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing that the Prime Minister did not allege that any bribes were being taken by the ABWU.
“I’ve never heard the Prime Minister use any such word, and I believe it’s an interpretation … of the plea on the part of the Prime Minister for the union representing hotel workers to be more aggressive in going after increases for hotel workers.
“It just very unfair that hotel work, which used to be far more attractive than working for the government, has become a place where Antigua have begun to avoid working there because they believe that the earnings are so small that they can barely buy a car or build a house on their salaries,” Hurst said.