The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

UNION leaders yesterday called on the Davis administration to stop its “union busting tactics” calling the government’s recent announcement about forthcoming salary increases for public servants that were reportedly made without consultation “a blatant disregard for unions”.

During a press conference at the Bahamas Public Service Union office on East Street and Soldier Road yesterday, union leaders responded to the government’s announcement in a memorandum and proposal document last Friday with proposed salary increases for public servants.

The proposal included changes to initial increases proposed by the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU). Then on Tuesday, Bernard Evans, the chief labour consultant in charge of the negotiations between BPSU and the government said these negotiations should be satisfied by the end of this week, pointing to a rise in minimum wage for the recent revision of the proposed wage increases to public servants.

In response to this, BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson said yesterday that the recently changed proposed salary increases and proposed increase allowances for various categories of public servants that were sent out to governing officials for “implementation” was done so without the voice of his union.

“We are confirming to date that we have not met with the government to sign off on any particular item in the industrial agreement. And these increases regarding the responsibility allowance is not something that the Bahamas Public Service Union will be signing off on,” he said.

“We do wish that public servants receive their funding, so that they can indeed have a happy yuletide season and the union will do nothing to hamper that. But we do wish to go to the table and we will not be signing a piece of paper. We are going to sign a complete industrial agreement negotiated by us,” Mr Ferguson said.

He also said that annual increases that are being put in place for permanent secretaries, directors and department heads, exceed the salaries of minimum wage public servants and this shows that the government is in possession of funding to allow public servants adequate increases.

“I want to emphatically state today that there are some increases that permanent secretaries, directors, secretaries, directors and heads of department have been instructed to implement, which enhances the salaries of directors and permanent secretaries by way of responsibility allowance,” he said.

“Please note that in the union’s counterproposal to the government, we had asked that the finance and accounting officers receive a responsibility allowance of $3,600. A counterproposal was sent back to the union dismissing and not even giving consideration to it,” Mr Ferguson said.

“The annual increase, it almost exceeds the salaries of persons at minimum wage, and if the government is in possession of this type of funding, and refuses to bring the individuals at the lower end of the scale to a point that they can be competitive for the cost of living, we are indeed concerned,” he said.

Mr Ferguson added, “I have received nothing in the form of a counterproposal. I’m advised that something will be forwarded before the day’s end, but I would like to note that it appears as if there’s some scrambling taking place for persons to try to save face.

“While the agreement was presented in 2018, there was some non-financial aspects of the agreement that we had signed off on and there were a number of other financial issues that needed to be discussed and agreed upon. We have yet been given the opportunity to do so,” he said.

Belinda Wilson, president of the Bahamas National Alliance Trade Union Congress (BNATUC), and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT), was also at the press conference yesterday.

Mrs Wilson said that all the unions that fall within the BNATUC umbrella organisation will stand with the BPSU to ensure that they are treated fairly, calling on the government to follow its labour laws.

“I want to say that the Bahamas National Alliance Trade Union Congress has a zero tolerance when the employer and, more specifically, the government does not follow the labour laws,” she said

“While the congress will not stand in the way of the employer paying funds to its employees. On the other hand, we will not ignore the blatant disregard for unions and in this instance, the Public Service Union, the government is aware of the right to collective bargain and the BPSU is the sole bargaining agent for the public service workers throughout The Bahamas,” Mrs Wilson said.

“We call upon the minister of labour to tell his colleagues to cease and desist from these breaches and get to the negotiating table with the BPSU forthwith. We will stand with the BPSU,” Mrs Wilson said.

Theresa Mortimer, secretary general of the Bahamas National Alliance Trade Union Congress, added, “It’s sad, because the government of The Bahamas is union busting.

“And when you have the government union busting, you expect nothing less from the private sector, because they would say to you straight and clean the government today, they got away with it. So we’re gonna do it,” she said.

The BNATUC is composed of six unions and two associations. Present along with Mrs Wilson, Mr Ferguson and Mrs Mortimer at yesterday’s press conference were representatives for the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union (BTCU) and the Airport Airline and Allied Workers (AAAWU).