The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

PROTESTORS gathered outside the House of Assembly yesterday as public service union members pressed the government to intervene in a long-running salary dispute at the University of the Bahamas, with union president Kimsley Ferguson accusing university officials of failing to honour agreed pay adjustments.

Mr Ferguson said about 350 non-academic employees and their families remain on outdated salary scales dating back to the College of the Bahamas era, with promised reviews and merit payments still outstanding.

"These people cannot still be surviving on a scale from 2008," he said, adding that workers have been given a "runaround". "These folks have been owed everything from 2019."

He called on Prime Minister Philip Davis to intervene and urged the removal of University of the Bahamas president Dr Robert Blaine and board chair Allyson Maynard Gibson.

"Being a lawyer, think she understands the repercussions and ramifications of having a disregard for a legal binding document," Mr Ferguson said. "Please remove Dr Robert Blaine if he does not intend to grab the bull by the horn and advance the premier tertiary institution in this country."

He said a salary review expected around 2023 remains incomplete and that merit-based payments dating back to 2019 are unresolved. The delays, he said, have stalled negotiations on a new industrial agreement.

“We have not gotten to the table after presenting proposed industrial agreement to the University of Bahamas and the additional unresolved grievances that we would have had,” he said. “We have been advised that until the salary review is completed, we would be unable to get to the table.”

He said the union filed a trade dispute over merit pay with the Industrial Tribunal and that the matter has remained unresolved since 2019.

“We want to make certain that whatever funding is left available, that the people that we represent can be captured in that funding and receive what we’re not begging for, anything we’re demanding what we’ve agreed to on behalf of the people that we do represent,” he said.

The university said it continues to meet contractual obligations, including annual increments, and that merit payments “have commenced and are ongoing.” It also said the firm conducting the salary review is awaiting information from the union.

Mr Ferguson rejected the university’s position, calling it "inaccurate", "untrue" and "a total fabrication".

He also criticised restrictions on the union’s engagement with Deloitte & Touche, saying the union wants to raise questions during presentations rather than submit them in advance.

"We do not want to frame questions and send them ahead of us," he said. “We empathetically stated to the University of The Bahamas that we want to be able to ask Deloitte and Touche whatever questions arise based on their presentation."

He warned the protest would not be the last.

“There’s going to be continued industrial action today, maybe a short stint, but we will be back until such time as these issues and concerns are addressed,” he said.

Some protesters said delays stretch back years.

"Since 2015, the BPSU was trying to get a meeting with the president, and since then we have not gotten our agreement done yet. We haven't gotten a timeline," one protester said. "From 2016 up to today, it's time for us to get it, our benefits along with our money."

Another said workers feel overlooked despite years of service.

"It's us who are the backbone of the institution from the College of The Bahamas, from then to now, and they still don't even acknowledge us," the protester said. "We need our merit pay. A lot of us have not gotten our merit pay. I've sent emails and got no response at all."

Mr Ferguson later told members he spoke with the prime minister, who said he had made inquiries after earlier demonstrations and was awaiting further clarification on the matter.