At the 87th Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU), union president Bernard de Nully has brought long-simmering public-sector labor grievances back into the spotlight, placing urgent focus on the years-long dispute over unpaid overtime for workers at the ABS facility.
De Nully emphasized that despite a clear legal ruling already ordering the disbursement of owed overtime payments to the ABS workforce, the case has dragged on for years without any tangible resolution for the affected employees. He noted that these workers have continued to fulfill their professional duties in good faith throughout the prolonged delay, but mounting frustration has become overwhelming for many of them. “Payments to ABS workers should be paid forthwith. Right is right and wrong is wrong,” de Nully stated firmly during his address to conference delegates.
The ABS overtime dispute is far from an isolated case, according to the union leader. He detailed that a host of unresolved labor complaints have plagued public-sector workers across the twin-island nation, with some outstanding issues remaining unaddressed for anywhere between 10 and 20 years. Past worker protests at three major public institutions — the Central Board of Health, the Solid Waste Management department, and the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre — serve as stark examples of the unrest stemming from these unaddressed grievances, he added.
De Nully used the conference, held this year under the unifying theme of “developing stronger workers for a stronger future,” to urge the union’s membership to maintain solidarity in their push for resolution. He warned that internal divisions among workers would erode the hard-won gains that have been secured through decades of collective bargaining, undermining the labor movement’s ability to advocate for fair treatment.
Representing more than 10,000 workers across Antigua and Barbuda, the AT&LU remains one of the most prominent organized labor voices in the country, and its annual conference serves as a key platform to surface and push for action on systemic workplace issues affecting public and private sector employees alike.