Hôtel de la Collectivité (Robert Luckock photo)
MARIGOT--Victor Maurasse Street and the entrance to Hôtel de la Collectivité were blocked on Monday morning, preventing employees from entering the building, an action that President Gibbs deemed “inappropriate, and a hindrance to the continuity of public service.”
The union UNIT-978 issued a strike notice on July 2 concerning specific demands on the location of the Territorial Police as well as the various claims relating to the situation of territorial employees. Since then, there have been peaceful gatherings outside the building.
In a statement issued Monday, Gibbs said he had asked UNIT-978 to immediately lift the blockade which had no reason to be there and which unnecessarily penalised territorial employees working in the building as well as accessibility to public services for St. Martiners.
“Following the strike notice of the UNIT-978 union, dated Friday, July 2, I immediately brought concrete elements of answer, firstly on the location of the Territorial Police as from Monday, July 5, in the respect of the regulations in force.
“As I had promised, I did indeed send an official and detailed letter on the location of our police force and the fitting out of the premises adjoining the Hôtel de la Collectivité. On the other hand, I had asked UNIT-978 to give me the necessary time to answer precisely the other points of demand, 29 in number, concerning for the most part points of interest to all employees. This was done on Wednesday, July 7, through an email from the President to UNIT-978.”
Gibbs said a new meeting with the union was proposed for 2:00pm Tuesday, July 13, to continue the social dialogue in a calm and serene climate, in respect to the rights of Collectivité employees, and with regard to the claims of UNIT-978, to be able to answer the requests and to move forward together in the interest of the institution and its employees.
However, he said his stated and sincere desire for social dialogue was not heard or respected.
A meeting has now been set for 8:30am today, Tuesday, July 13, in the Territorial Council conference room.
“Concrete answers demonstrating the work undertaken since 2019 in favour of the territorial employees and their careers will be provided during this meeting, in order to get out of this regrettable deadlock situation as soon as possible,” Gibbs said.
UNIT-978 representative Albert Blake could not be reached on Monday evening.
