The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

IRATE employees of the National Insurance Board gathered in anger outside the entity’s Baillou Hill Road headquarters yesterday after learning they would not receive increments owed to them since January.

While President of the Union of Public Officers at NIB Marvin Oneal Duncombe was firm this was a “meeting” and “not a demonstration,” tensions were high.

Mr Duncombe told The Tribune: “It appears that management has made a decision that they will not pay (increments) that was supposed to be paid to all line staff…in January.

“Now it wasn’t paid in January because we understand that the appraisals were outstanding and therefore we said, ‘that’s ok, we will extend the grace to them.’

“It is now February, and we are expecting our increments to be paid. Management initially had said they would pay the increments on the old agreement, which was not legal, because we are now in a new agreement.”

In March 2017, NIB and the Public Managers Union (PMU) signed an industrial agreement that calls for a performance management system (PMS) with merit-based compensation. The pilot phase of this pact was launched in January 2017.

Mr Duncombe continued: “So now they have said today they are not going to pay any increments at all. Because they are seeking for a committee to be established so that they can sit and discuss every single application, so that they can decide whether or not they’re going to pay the increment.

“We are saying that the management had from 2017 of January to put the committee in place. The union is not responsible for establishing or putting the committee in place, and they are now seeking to use what’s in the agreement to disenfranchise our people.

“This is unfair, this is not right, and we are asking for management to fix this and make sure we get what is due to us.

“They are saying that they are not going to pay us the increment for this month because the committee is not in place. If you read the agreement, you will see that the committee was supposed to be put in place from January of last year.”

He said: “That committee was not in place. The (performance management system) was not in place. The PMS system did not work. We paid the people their bonuses on the PMS system. And therefore we’re asking them to keep the same precedent going forward.

“This is disenfranchising people who have made commitment to their families. So we’re asking for management to do the right thing and to pay the increment to the people that are deserving of it, that are waiting for it, and we are tired of having to be treated like this.”

Larverne Pople, first vice-president of the UPO added: “We have delayed it. It was due in January, and we have delayed the bonus on management agreeing that the people would be paid in February. You come to us today— payday is on Friday. How do they tell our members that they are not going to be paid their increments after waiting two months?

“I think that is unfair, and it is ungodly. The minister needs to intervene. This director (Patricia Hermanns) is making no sense. She is not a people’s person. And something has to be done.”

NIB staff told The Tribune that a “majority” of employees were present at the meeting.

Mr Duncombe said “management and staff” were present, adding: “We joined forces because managers are also impacted.”

When asked if those who attended returned to work, Mr Duncombe said: “We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but they have gone back to work today.”

“And we wanted to call a meeting, this was not a demonstration, we wanted to call a meeting with our people to inform them as to what management has said to us. And we are not pleased with this decision because we believe that is unfair to our people.”

Cassandra Lewis, president of the Public Managers Union also spoke with The Tribune. She said: “We are here today to represent our members of the (PMU).”

“We have been put in a situation where we need (executive) management to be more considerate with regard to their position and our industrial agreement.”

Stephen Fountain, second vice-president of the PMU, added: “We are really angry and a little upset with the position that (executive) management has taken right now.

“We had a meeting yesterday where we were told that certain things would have been done. When we met again today that was withdrawn from the table. And they have taken a position where they are not even considering compensating the managers.

“So we are just out here in solidarity with UPO to show management that we are united as a front, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our members are justifiably dealt with.”