The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL dozen University of The Bahamas staffers yesterday protested outside of the university as they waited for a long promised salary review.

Kimsley Ferguson, president of The Bahamas Public Services Union, representing the staff, accused UB’s leadership of dragging their feet.

“There is a very, very high level of frustration standing behind me,” he said, “a great degree of disappointment that we have to take to the streets and cannot sit at the table and address signed industrial agreements. We are in possession of documentation that addresses the fact that the university is aware of the fact that they would have reneged on their commitment to do our salary review.

“Again, I want to reiterate that our counterparts would have received it for every year that their review was not done, a hefty $2,000 lump sum for every year that their review was not done.

“We are here this morning and we are making representation on behalf of ourselves. We would like our salary review to be done retroactively from 2019, and we would also like compensation for the years in which it was not done.

Mr Ferguson said the union’s demonstration yesterday was to exhaust diplomacy before other forms of action are taken. He declined to comment on the next course of action.

Following the initial protest on the outskirts of the university, union members marched on the campus holding hands and chanting: “We want our money and we want it now.”

The union members stood outside of the launch ceremony of the university’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, hoping to see Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who was in attendance.

However, Mr Davis did not see them.

Acting president of the University of The Bahamas, Janyne Hodder, said the various sides were expected to meet yesterday afternoon to address the matter.

“The salary review is intended to cover all members of all bargaining units,” she said. “We agree that it’s an important thing that needs to be done and we are looking at the mechanism by which we will do that and that’s what I hope to discuss this afternoon.

“So, we respect all of our unions, and we want to do a fair and good salary review to the best of our ability because we think our staff, our facility, and our students are part of this community and an important contributor to everything we do.”

She said the matter was brought to her attention ten days ago.