Barcastle

1

BARCASTLE LTD. On his return to work from leave on January 11, 1988, Mr. Henry Smith, Personnel Manager of Barcastle Ltd. in Barbados, knew that he would be forced to make an urgent decision. He had visited the company for a short while on Friday, January 8, 1983, when the General Manager (Ag), Mr. St.Clair Brewster, informed him that he had suspended Mr. Timothy James,' a production worker and shop steward, for the remainder of that day for refusing to comply with a managerial request. After officially discussing the incident with Mr. Brewster and other members of the Management team at Barcastle Ltd., Mr. Smith invited Timothy to explain the circumstances surrounding his suspension. Not only had Timothy refused to comment, but the President of the "local" union, Mr. John Francis, who had accompanied Timothy, informed Mr. Smith that the issue had been referred to the National Workers Union. Mr. Smith referred James to Section 4 of the Code of Discipline (See Exhibits I-III for selected articles from the Collective Agreement) and informed Timothy that his suspension would remain effective until the circumstances were investigated. Mr. Smith wanted to have this issue settled quickly. Yet, he wanted to be sure that he could defend any action taken by the company.. He wrote the Union the following day, explaining briefly the circumstances.of Timcthy's suspension, and requested a meeting. General Company Background Barcastle Ltd. was a public company registered in 1959. It commenced operations in September 1961. It manufactured a select range of products sold on the local market. The company had a generally high public profile both in terms of the quality of its products and their popularity with consumers, and its level of involvement in and support for community activities. ----------------------------------------------------------------This case was