Employees of One Caribbean Media (OCM) voiced their dissatisfaction with management as they engaged in an hour-long protest yesterday in front of Express House, Independence Square, Port-of-Spain. Union representatives and members described the situation facing workers as a steadily deteriorating industrial relations climate between OCM and its employees. Deputy president of the Bankers, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU), Mario Als, said workers feared the material produced by Express reporters would be used for Tv6 newscasts without additional compensation to reporters. One employee said there also were fears the company would use reporting from both Express and TV6 for its new venture, OCM Caribbean Superstation.
SuperStation will give online users access to Caribbean material through a television and radio platform.
“We are not prepared as a union for a situation where workers are required to produce more work without compensation,” said Als. Als said other issues plaguing OCM employees included the failures by OCM to honour agreements made with the union, undue delays in the settlement of grievances and a persistent refusal to compensate advertising sales representatives. He said OCM sought to maximise profits by eroding into the benefits and rights of its employees. He said although the union was currently in dialogue with OCM, the employers have been “stonewalling” it. Als said the intensity of protests would increase if some measure of sanity and stability was not demonstrated by OCM management.
President of BIGWU, Vincent Cabrera, was at yesterday’s protest. He used the opportunity to encourage workers to show solidarity with fellow union members at Newsday during their protest, scheduled for 12 pm today. Newsday employees have been protesting since last week over industrial relations issues and wage negotiations. When contacted by T&T Guardian yesterday, OCM’s group corporate services manager Gregory Camejo said he was alarmed and perplexed as to what the protest was about. He said meetings held with the union last month showed no indication of deteriorating industrial relations. He also expressed his confusion as to reporters’ fears that their stories would be used for the new OCM Caribbean Superstation and said there had been no dialogue to indicate stories would be used without discusion with employees.
Meanwhile, OCM cancelled yesterday’s scheduled launch of the OCM Caribbean Superstation at the Hilton Trinidad after union members made plans to protest outside the hotel. Protests are expected to continue today at both Newsday and Express offices.
