In an about face that brought to an end months of strenuous negotiations, trade union leaders said Monday they reached a compromise on delayed salary increases because they wanted to keep the peace in their respective unions and prevent any rifts.
After fighting for five months, union leaders backed down from their hard and fast position to have the government pay at least a fraction of the promised salary increases by the end of the month.
Instead, they signed an agreement that they admitted they were not happy with.
Initially, the nine unions and associations which came to be known as ‘The Bahamas Public Sector Alliance,’ had pushed for a portion of the $1,200 lump sum to be paid to thousands of civil servants by the end of October and the remaining in December.
ï¾ However, chief negotiator and President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) Kingsley Black told The Bahama Journal that the trade unionists wanted to avoid any dispute among themselves.
“We wouldn’t want members of the group to start criticizing each other,” Mr. Black said. “In a diverse group, we worked on balance instead of pushing what is the popular decision. We have to be team players. When it was clear that it was time to change gears, we had to change gears…it isn’t want we expected, but it’s the best possible agreement.”
The agreement was announced by Public Services Minister Fred Mitchell and the trade unionists at a press conference at the Department of Public Service on Poincianna Hill.
It was agreed that the $100 per month salary increase will be paid on the government’s payday in January, 2004 onward, while the arrears due from July, which amount to some $600 will be paid on December 9, 2003.
The compromise was reached after months of wrangling and proposals by both sides.
During the contract signing, both Mr. Black and President of The Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) John Pinder, which represents the larger unions, admitted that they were not totally satisfied with the contract.
“While it does not specifically satisfy demands made by each group individually, all things considered, the concern was to make certain that the interest of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas was served by this agreement,” Mr. Black said.
He continued: “It’s an unusual labour commitment that we go beyond the borders of the work environment and look nationally. Unfortunately, it was difficult for us to ignore the national interest in our negotiations. All of us tried our best to represent the interest of the wider public service instead of simply the interest of our own individual organizations.”
Mr. Pinder added: “While we didn’t get what was wished for, we are pleased that we did accomplish something, taking into consideration our country’s financial position at this time. I would like to thank our members for being patient and I hope that everyone would have a merry Christmas as a result of these back payments. We were looking forward to some payments in October, but looking at the financial picture that has been painted, we accept that this is the best we can do on behalf of all and sundry.”
Back in June, during Prime Minister Perry Christie’s budget communication, he said the government couldn’t deliver the money promised in July without raising taxes. As a result, it opted to begin the payments in December.
Union leaders, however, had said they were prepared to stand firm in their demands that the government pay at least a portion of the money civil servants were promised.
Mr. Black feels the parties have now brought a “reasonable conclusion” to the negotiations.
“This whole business of what is in the best interest of the people whose behalf we are negotiating on is what is of paramount importance,” he said. “In this particular instance, because what we are asking is connected to the revenue and the performance of the economy, we had to consider the greater good.”
Meantime, Minister Mitchell stopped short of informing reporters on how the government expects to pay the $24 million increases.
He admitted though that borrowing the money would be the least preferred option.
Minister Mitchell also pointed to deferring projects as another avenue for securing the money to meet the payments.
“The question of how one deals with the fiscal and monetary situation, that’s the Minister of Finance’s responsibility and I know that whatever he does to execute this, would be done properly, according to the discipline and restraint that has been exercised up to now,” Minister Mitchell said.
He added: “There’s a very important case from the Court of Appeal in Grenada where it was decided that it doesn’t matter what the government’s financial circumstances are, if it is owed in a contract, you’ve got to pay it. That’s what it essentially boils down to and in order to get out of an agreement, you have an agreement to defer it.”
The union leaders had been threatening industrial action if the government refused to deliver on the promised salary increases.
But Mr. Black said Monday that the union leaders were pleased to conclude the negotiations without any militant industrial action.
“In this our 30th anniversary of independence, I think that it is good that the public service and the people who represent the workers in the public service could reach an agreement without a fight. I think it shows maturity,” he said.
Mr. Black added: “There might be the notion by some that we didn’t achieve very much. Up to the time we had the final meeting with the prime minister, there was no guarantee that anything that we expected in December would take place. The signing of the agreement today gives that guarantee that in December the $600 back-pay would be paid in full…I think it is safe to say that the agreement mirrors consensus within the group,” he added.
He said that the effort to force the government to pay the increases before December was not meant to create unnecessary unrest.
“Some people in the community had this view that the only thing we were interested in was flexing our muscles and engaging in a test of wills and to get down Bay Street, carrying on bad and breaking up the town,” Mr. Black said. “That is so far fetched. In labour relations, unions have certain tactics to get certain points driven home. All we’ve done as responsible trade unions and staff associations is used tools of the trade to get our just due and it has nothing to do with us wanting to break up the country.”
In the interim, other matters of importance to civil servants are being addressed.
Promotions of public servants will be processed before October 28, including those for the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Prison Department. The promotion exercise will cost the government an additional $1 million.
According to the agreement, the government will take all the necessary steps to ensure that the pay for all completed promotions be paid on November 26. This is in addition to the government agreeing to pay any back pay to fix salary anomalies of Family Island Administrators and School Administrators on November 28 or as soon thereafter as “reasonably practicable.”
Mr. Pinder said the promotions were a “burning issue” as well.
“Promotions go all the way back to 2001,” he said. “They just wanted to ensure that they could get their promotions so their increments could be added to their salaries, so we were glad that we could get that accomplished.”
Mr. Black said when the BUT’s executive met with its members at 8 o’clock Monday morning, they were appraised of the terms and conditions of the agreement.
“The impression we got was that they were satisfied especially now that we have a guarantee,” he noted.
Meantime, Mr. Pinder admitted to not addressing the BPSU membership as a whole, but stated that shop stewards have made their rounds of informing members, until the union’s October 28 meeting.
The Bahamas Public Sector Alliance includes the BPSU, the BUT, the Nurses Union, Doctors Union, Prison Staff Association, Police Staff Association, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Nurses Staff Association and the Air Traffic Controllers Union.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
