KFC bites back at BIU

The fried chicken franchise yesterday bit back in a long-running dispute with a union – on the eve of a tribunal set up to settle differences between the two.

KFC Bermuda and its sister firm KFC Operations spoke out after BIU president Chris Furbert cried ‘fowl’ over the treatment of unionized workers at the store in Hamilton’s Queen St.

A spokesman for the company said: “KFC Bermuda finds it bizarre that less than a week in advance of the scheduled start of Labour Disputes Tribunal proceedings, the BIU is engaging in public theatrics and making sensational and unsupported public accusations against the KFC companies.

“Such conduct certainly calls into question whether the BIU intends to enter into the tribunal process in good faith seeking resolution of long outstanding matters.”

Chicken Wars

Earlier this week, the chicken wars heated up after Mr Fubert accused KFC Bermuda (KFCB) of “bullying” staff in bid to oust union influence, the illegal sacking of a shop steward and breaking the terms of a court-imposed injunction.

Mr Furbert added that the union would take legal action over the sacking shop steward June Douglas, after she developed an eye problem.

The KFC spokesman said that both KFC firms rejected claims it had broken the terms of the injunction – and added that if the BIU thought that was the case, they should have raised it with the firms or gone back to the courts.

The spokesman said: “KFCB notes that the BIU has not pursued these logical steps in this instance but instead made unsubstantiated allegations to the media without first approaching the KFC companies to express their concerns or seek clarifications.

“It seems the BIU approach is ‘why let the facts get in the way of a good story?’ “

And he underlined that the company denied they had treated employees unfairly or breached the law in the case of Ms Douglas.

The spokesman added that KFCB “hoped that the BIU will refrain from further unsubstantiated public accusations” in advance of the industrial tribunal.

Disability

Earlier this week, Mr Furbert said that the case of Ms Douglas would be taken to the courts by union lawyers.

Mr Furbert said the union decided to act after KFC worker June Douglas, who had given evidence for the union in two legal actions against KFC, was let go by the firm two weeks ago.

He added that she had suffered “health challenges which resulted in temporary partial vision impairment in one of her eyes.”

Mr Furbert said that the decision was a breach of the Human Rights Act, which protects disabled people’s jobs “so long as there is no undue hardship.”

He added: “It is a strange coincidence that Sister June… should be turned out of her employment with KFC Bermuda Ltd after more than 30 years of unblemished service because of a disability.

“We think there is something more to this story and we have instructed our lawyers to get to the bottom of it.”

Mr Furbert also accused management at the firm breaking a 2012 court injunction to stop KFC from seeking to re-employ staff in a new firm, KFC Operations Ltd, which would operate outside of the former union collective bargaining agreement.

He said that the firm was “bullying” staff in a bid to “oust the remaining union members from its ranks with unsavoury tactics.”

Mr Furbert added: “They are refusing to pay the employees for the time they have worked and attempting to withdraw overtime benefits from the employees without their agreement and placing unreasonable conditions on employees who are affiliated with the claim against KFC Bermuda Limited on issues such as overtime, dates of work and requests for vacation.”

Mr Furbert explained that the agreement had been that workers’ overtime was calculated on a daily basis, but they had now been told their regular 40 hours would have to worked before getting overtime.