THE Government plans to lift its freeze on increments and promotions within the civil service, according to union head John Pinder.
However, the Ingraham administration has stopped short of committing to an across-the-board salary increase for the public sector due to ongoing financial constraints, Mr Pinder said after meeting with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham yesterday.
The Bahamas Public Service Union was in talks with the nation’s chief yesterday ahead of the Budget communication which will be presented to the House of Assembly next week.
This will be the last Budget before the next general election, and Mr Pinder expects tight fiscal policies will be relaxed before voters head to the polls.
The increments and the promotions do not affect the whole public service, we want a general increase regardless of how small it would be,” said the BPSU head, who is agitating for a raise of $100 to $150 a month for all civil servants.
Approximately 25 to 30 per cent of civil servants are either eligible for a promotion or are at the top of their salary scale, while another 35 to 45 per cent are due for salary increases, said Mr Pinder. Government is also considering regularising the majority of workers on its payroll who are not yet permanent employees
