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Injunction issued over golf course sackings

Angel Caberera shoots out of the bunker on the 16th at Port Royal Golf Course during the Grand Slam of Golf.Port Royal has been rocked by the sackings of staff.

The Supreme Court has issued an injunction against the Government’s sacking of three Bermuda Public Service Union workers earlier this week.BPSU made the move yesterday on behalf of Port Royal Golf Course general manager Bill Pitt, his Ocean View counterpart Marie Johnson, and Ocean View administrative assistant Marie Burgess who were all fired on Tuesday, The Royal Gazette understands.It is unclear what ramifications this move will have for the remaining nine workers who were also made redundant, but Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert has already indicated that five of his six members have been found jobs in other areas.“Hopefully that (other jobs) is something they (Government) can bring to the table this time,” said BPSU president Kevin Grant. “In the meantime we’re just making sure we can provide our members with the best representation possible.”The injunction means that both sides will now have to take the fight to Supreme Court, and Mr Grant said the move had been designed to give the union’s lawyers some time to get all their arguments together.“At this present time, what we are doing is making sure that we investigate all parameters, and do a little bit more research before we start dealing with this particular matter,” said Mr Grant.“Our general secretary (Ed Ball) has been working around the clock to make sure this particular issue is addressed appropriately.”The speed of the sackings, which saw workers told of their dismissals and then escorted off the golf courses moments later, caught everyone by surprise, and Mr Grant said the swiftness of the departures had been something of a shock.“It all was a bit of a shock for us when we saw how this particular thing had transpired, so, what we’re doing now, as any union would do, is to find every means in order to defend our members,” he said.“It’s really in the early stages now, and what we’ve done is put measures in place so that we can have the proper time to cross our ‘T’s and dot our ‘I’s and make sure we are able to give our members the best representation that they can receive.“We’re just trying to make sure we stop things from happening a little bit fast, so that we can give our membership the best representation.“