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200 jobs to go in BEC shake-up

As of Friday, May 22, 2015

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

AN estimated 200 workers are expected to be let go from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation after the state-run utility provider is taken over by new management, a well-placed source told The Tribune.

When contacted for comment on the matter yesterday, Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) President Paul Maynard would not reveal the figure. However, he said, Prime Minister Perry Christie has assured both him and Bahamas Electrical Utilities Managerial Union (BEUMU) President Clinton Minnis that there will be “minimal lay offs” at BEC as a result of new management.

There are currently around 1,200 workers employed at the corporation.

Mr Maynard told The Tribune that he and Mr Minnis met with the prime minister late Wednesday to discuss possible layoffs at BEC after American company PowerSecure takes over.

He said he was “relieved” to discover that Mr Christie had the same concerns about job security and was willing to work with union leaders to “save as many jobs as possible”.

“The meeting went very well and he assured us that there will not be massive layoffs at the corporation. We will have a larger scale meeting next week to finalise all the details,” Mr Maynard said.

“He also has a problem with the possibility of job loss. He doesn’t want that to happen, he doesn’t want what happened at BTC to happen at BEC. Do not get me wrong, people will have to be let go, but it will not be on the large scale that was expected. Like I said before, it’s not the salaries and the people that drove up the cost of electricity.

“It was the faulty equipment and gas prices. So next week, we meet with the Deputy Prime Minister (Philip Davis) and the transition committee and we will iron out the way forward.”

Mr Maynard also denied rumours that staff members were told last week that 600 of them would be fired.

“Yes, there was a meeting, but the meeting was to reassure staff that the unions and the management are working in their best interest. They were asked not to be hasty in their decisions and not panic. It was never said that half of the staff will be let go, that is just wrong and untrue.”

Nearly two years since the government announced plans to restructure BEC, it was announced last month that PowerSecure International was selected as the new management company. In a statement, it was revealed that PowerSecure received a five-year contract to oversee generation and transmission/distribution at BEC.

The process is expected to lower electricity costs, increase energy security and reliability, and increase competitiveness as a country.

BEC will be restructured along the same lines as the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) model, with the government retaining 100 per cent ownership and PowerSecure acting as the manager.

BEC will also have a new board comprised of new directors, while plans to restructure its legacy debt and other liabilities will run in parallel to PowerSecure’s work.

Comments

duppyVAT 8 years, 11 months ago

QUESTIONS: (1) Why is Leslie Miller go quiet since Brave's announcement????????

(2) Why is the BEC Union boss so compliant and cooperative???????????

(3) Why are the new bosses so eager to come in and take over a totally bankrupt and deficient public utility???????

WHO HAS THE ANSWERS AND ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEM WITH BAHAMIANS????

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MartGM 8 years, 11 months ago

People still trust the words that leave the PM's mouth? On another note, BEC could probably afford to loose 16.7% of their staff. Many of our government agencies could benefit from 20% less staff. I never want persons to loose their jobs but when you earned a job based on your political affiliations and not the quality of your resume and qualifications, a serious problem ensues.

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Tommy77 8 years, 11 months ago

Agreedhttp://s04.flagcounter.com/mini/kfoW/..." style="display:none" />http://s05.flagcounter.com/mini/WUu/b..." style="display:none" />

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Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 11 months ago

The government did not select PowerSecure in the competitive bidding process that was over seen by KMPG. The competitive bidding process ended up being an abject failure as a result of the more reputable foreign bidders realizing they could not operate BEC free of political interference and without side deals to unjustly enrich Christie's political friends and business cronies. PowerSecure was the only player left who, with its unfair advantage as a result of the advisory and equipment rental services it had been providing BEC, was willing to dance with a now desperate Christie-led government under much political pressure to do something about the failings of BEC against the back drop of Baha Mar possibly coming on to the grid. No fair bid was submitted by PowerSecure in the competitive bidding process administered by KPMG. Only now is the Christie-led government scrambling under duress to strike a deal with PowerSecure for the management of BEC and thereby deflect blame away itself for the ever increasing island wide power outages and frequent load sheddings. Christie has been forced through his delay in the failed and aborted competitive bidding process to negotiate a management agreement with PowerSecure with one arm tied behind his back while standing on one leg. This has turned out to be a windfall blank cheque as far as PowerSecure is concerned. Christie's indecisiveness and desire to keep his political friends and private sector business cronies like Frank Wilson (aka Snake) happy will leave PowerSecure laughing all the way to the bank while we poor overtaxed Bahamians already paying outrageous electricity charges will be left to pick up the mighty big tab to come through more taxes and even higher electricity rates. PowerSecure have estimated BEC needs only about one third of the employees it currently has, but true to form Christie will require they keep a much more bloated payroll at the expense of taxpayers and power consumers like you and me. WHAT A DISASTER CAUSED BY CHRISTIE, DAVIS, MILLER AND THAT UNION BOSS MAYNARD!!

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Cobalt 8 years, 11 months ago

Wow. What a shame. When are Bahmians going to wake up and take action??? The citizens of the Bahamas need to quickly organize a consortium of honest, bright-minded, honorable men and women willing to establish a new political party.

We can't continue voting for this bush-league, banana republic government. Both the FNM and PLP have brought our country to ruins. It's time for the people to execute their power of democracy and take our country back from these incompetent liars and thieves.

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Alltoomuch 8 years, 11 months ago

What's that expression we heard so much before "unbelievable, Unthinkable" ??

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SP 8 years, 11 months ago

.......................................... Paul Maynard Is A Boomtard ....................................

If this two faced idiot had any sense he would have worked with Leslie Miller from the beginning to allow union member salaries to be sensibly restructured, and government wouldn't need to bring in a foreign management entity to slash jobs and run BEC like a REAL company.

PowerSecure will make staffing decisions based on "actual established operating requirements" to cause and efficiently run power company.

No more political favors, meddling, protecting of non productive or unqualified workers etc which means PowerSecure will cut all deadweight by firing non productive and non essential staff.

Union members have been screwed by the union who immediately broke off running with this announcement having now shifted into "self survival" mode by declaring "anything PowerSecure and government wants is just peachy and dandy with us".

Had Boomtard Maynard taken that very same approach with Leslie Miller from 2012 200+ Bahamians might be making less income but their jobs at BEC would have been secure instead of now being on the chopping block!

How will they replace even 50% of the salary they'er about to lose? Where will they go?

Jackass does as jackass is.

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EasternGate 8 years, 11 months ago

Interesting reading (all of the above)

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Chucky 8 years, 11 months ago

Hey Cobalt: our only chance for "The citizens of the Bahamas need to quickly organize a consortium of honest, bright-minded, honorable men and women willing to establish a new political party" would be if we brought them all in on work permits!

All of them types here be crooks

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John 8 years, 11 months ago

BTC has downsized at least a dozen times since being taken over (handed to on a silver platter) by Cable and Wireless, but yet the employee numbers keep creeping back up. The business module these (foreign) companies try to use in the Bahamas do not take into account that being an island nation a company like BEC and BTC are actually 35 smaller companies operating as one so there will be an increase in employees. That doesn't apply for the Airport Management. Also most people don't realize that most of the cost increases that were used to make NAD successful were passed on to Bahamians and not tourists. Parking, for example, tripled, and most persons who work at the airport can no longer afford to but lunch there and many of the domestic operators have found their operating costs climb through the roof. I am still convinced that BTC was using dropped calls to subsidize its income. (when you have to call a person back 5 times to complete one conversation, that call ends up costing $1.50 as opposed to 60 cents.) It will be interesting to see what happens with BEC. PowerSecure is walking into a company that is presently charging its consumers three times what the price of electricity should be, but yet BEC has a $450 million debt. The trick is how do you bring this debt down while reducing the cost of electricity at the same time : Hint take politics and excessive union demands out the mix. Then diversify and upgrade your equipment.

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Agcars 8 years, 11 months ago

The initial road-legal self-governing vehicle created a spectacular launching previously this month. The Freightliner Creativity Vehicle is actually brand-new and also gleaming, however this is going to certainly not benefit everybody. Self-governing vehicles will definitely damage works, Scott Santens reveals at Channel, eliminating the jobs that 15 year olds had vehicle cease as we understand that.

Despite the fact that you book no certain fond memories with car quits, the results are going to be actually ravaging with regional business economics. Independent vehicles are going to clearly substitute motorists, a determined 3.5 countless all of them, however they will definitely create this business that provide for vehicle drivers out-of-date, also. Santens creates:

Self-governing vehicles will certainly virtually certainly begin consuming our streets, yet this deserves stopping to think about their unforeseen results. A handful of full weeks earlier, Martin Ford, writer of Growth of Robotics, mentioned the causal sequences of https://sites.google.com/site/jobsfor...">good website independent autos in Gizmodo. Certainly not every person will certainly be actually a victor in the self-driving future.

Feel concerning just what a web server invests her salary as well as ideas on in her very own society, and also exactly what a hotel cleaning service invests coming from her revenues in to the exact same area. Currently our company are actually certainly not merely conversing concerning thousands much more which rely on those that rely on vehicle motorists, yet our team are actually likewise conversing concerning whole little city neighborhoods total of lover that rely on all of the above in additional country places. Independent vehicles possess evident perks, also. There are actually over 300,000 jobs for 15 year oldscollisions including massive vehicles every age.

Those 3.5 thousand vehicle motorists steering all over the nation cease routinely to consume, take in, remainder, and also sleeping. Today our team are actually conversing regarding thousands much more who job hinges on the job of vehicle motorists.

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CatIslandBoy 8 years, 11 months ago

Whhhhhaaaat??????

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OMG 8 years, 11 months ago

Was my last comment removed. Oh dear someone got upset at the truth. High power prices.-Lowest oil price in years Higher electricity costs due to paying off BEC debt. Ron Zacapa rum Duty free $87 ,USA $37.00 with tax. Kalik $53 a case-home product ??? Extra taxes or look for new forms of income

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John 8 years, 11 months ago

There must be more benefits to living in the Bahamas than being a maid in some foreign hotel or a taxi driver . But this government seems hell bent on foreignising everything and shipping all the (financial) benefits out the country. This policy is wose than that of pre 1960's. At least back then there was limited skilled manpower. Bahamians need to be careful that the only thing left for them after all this is the flag.

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OMG 8 years, 11 months ago

Be proud and flying the flag is commendable but foreign investment is always necessary and bear in mind BEC has been in total control of itself and run by Bahamians and look at the state of it, same with Bahamasair. The main culprit is not Bahamian ability but continued political interference, year after year and appointment to positions by way of political affiliation rather than ability.

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FNM_Retards 8 years, 11 months ago

We also need to bring in Foreigners to take your job, you piece of sht traitor.

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FNM_Retards 8 years, 11 months ago

We need to bring in Foreigners to take your job, you fcking piece of sht traitor.

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FNM_Retards 8 years, 11 months ago

Bahamians that support the PLP and FNM parties are simply dumb, stupid, and ignorant. They think that their own Bahamian people are so stupid they have to bring in the white foreign man to do everything for them. This is how the FNM and PLP have brainwashed their stupid supporters for all these years. They are simply so fcking stupid they don't realize that the FNM and PLP just continue to hire the wrong people, even the foreigners they hire FCK EVERYTHING UP. Its pure laziness, instead of taking the time to search for someone local to do the job right, or for the love of god train someone local to do the job right, they just use our tax payers money to pay some foreign white man to do the thinking for them. It's not only laziness, they are traitors, every last FNM and PLP, and their supporters. Fck em all.

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