Only 10 of the 23 offices were open on Thursday: in New Providence NIB’s headquarters and Robinson Road locations, and on the Family Islands West End and Eight Mile Rock (Grand Bahama), Cooper’s Town (Abaco), Governor’s Harbour (Eleuthera), North Eleuthera, Mayaguana, San Salvador and Cat Island.
The National Insurance Board told the public on Wednesday that a sickout was likely to affect the board’s operations, but no one in management would say why. However, a source at NIB told The Guardian that staff might have wanted to stage a sickout after management’s latest meeting with union members on Wednesday to discuss a proposed salary review.
President of the Public Managers Union Winston Moss said Thursday that both unions representing NIB have been negotiating a salary review and adjustment for three years. The PMU, he said, signed a document in July, 2001, saying the board agreed to have a salary review complete within 24 months.
“These 24 months expired at the end of July, 2003, and we signed an agreement in August, however, management’s interpretation of our agreement is what’s really causing a lot of frustration,” he said, and management is failing to interpret the agreement on the same basis as the union when it comes to reviews.
Mr. Moss said while awaiting the results of the review, the union went out on a limb and allowed an accounting firm to conduct its own report of NIB’s accounting department. The salary scales of NIB, he said, were compared to three other government corporations (BaTelCo, BEC and Water & Sewerage). The results of the report, he said, indicated that the salary scales of NIB’s accounts department was some 28 to 30 per cent below the salary scales of the other organisations.
“We brought this to management’s attention and even though the report cost the union a lot of money, management was made aware of the report and they realised that the results were true and agreed with its contents,” Mr. Moss claimed, adding that management is now “misinterpreting” the July, 2001, agreement as it relates to salary reviews and is now failing to “come to the table” to negotiate.
“The staff has just been frustrated on several other issues involving promotions and transfers and we just had enough. Management just does not seem to want to come to a livable understanding with us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Moss said that if management does not make an effort to meet with the union today, another sickout would be planned.
“We are hoping that we could get some sort of word from them earlier and it may not be necessary for us to be out tomorrow (today). This action is just to tell them ‘look, come to the table and talk with the unions, so we could come to some intelligent understanding on the way forward’.”
The PMU represents NIB employees as does the Union of Public Officers (UPO), led by Frank Deveaux.
Director of NIB Lennox McCartney told The Guardian that management had no plans to communicate with the union on Thursday, despite a mass sickout, and had no meetings scheduled.
“The union has not communicated with us on this matter and so far, we have no demands or communication from them as to what this is all about,” Mr. McCartney said.
He said NIB has a salary review “process” that started more than a year ago and had a report that was issued in July and revised in August. He said that management has received comments from the union around Oct. 15 and they are being reviewed by management, the board and Minister Shane Gibson.
“Once we have a position, we would then be meeting with them and have further discussions, but we have no communication from Mr. Moss as to why his people did not show up to work, if this is in fact organised by the union,” he said.
Mr. McCartney said that with its 10 offices open on Thursday, NIB was able to provide all services, except the payment of pensions at its headquarters location in the capital.
He said the corporation will take matters “one day at a time.”
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
