NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Time is running out for the government to conclude negotiations with teachers and nurses over the salary and retention bonuses that officials want in place when the new budget takes effect in nine days.
Prime Minister Philip Davis said last month that, subject to agreement from the unions, the new budget will see a salary increase for teachers and a retention bonus for teachers and nurses.
Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson has since said her union rejected the government’s proposal.
Bahamas Nurses Union President Amancha Williams, meanwhile, said yesterday that her union received an “unacceptable” retention bonus proposal from the government three months ago and she was invited only this week to a meeting to discuss a bonus.
Both the BUT and BNU has threatened industrial action as negotiations for their industrial agreements drag on.
“We are hopeful that we can conclude industrial agreements in short order,” Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs, said yesterday.
Unionist Bernard Evans, the government’s chief labour negotiator, said yesterday discussions for the retention bonus are happening alongside negotiations for the industrial agreement as the government wants to reach an agreement on both issues at the same time.
“You always need compromises on both sides,” he said yesterday. He declined to give details about the government’s offer and the union’s counteroffers.
“I don’t foresee any hardball, take it or leave it kind of attitude,” he added. “I think the government will be transparent and will show the representatives where the government is financially and where it is headed.”
Evans said he is optimistic the contracts will be eventually be signed, but not necessarily that they will be signed before July 1.
“The government was desirous for these contracts to be signed months ago,” he said. “I think now they think that they have offered something that is palatable. The majority of the concerns have been dealt with, not all of them, but they feel the unions could take a good look at where they are now. One of the presidents, during the last meeting, said at least we are headed in the right direction.”
Wilson said yesterday that the government sent her another counter-proposal just yesterday. She declined to comment on it, saying she has to take it to her members.
Williams, meanwhile, said the government hasn’t made a retention bonus proposal to her union yet.
“Only thing I know is we received some prior information in reference to retention but we have not yet come to a table and sat and spoke with them in reference to that,” she said.
Williams said the nurses are mainly concerned about the industrial agreement, suggesting focus on the retention bonus would come later.
“Our main goal is to have our industrial agreement signed which has many benefits for our nurses and one of our many concerns which is more important to us is our health insurance and our increases during the five years in the hospital,” she said.
“The Bahamas Nurses Union has also written a retention plan to the government that we’ve given to Minister Darville on his arrival to his office.
“That retention is just to keep our nurses here. Countries around the world are doing a number of things to keep their nurses in their countries to sustain a healthy life for their communities and you have to realise that even today they are recruiting our community nurses also and our psychiatric nurses.”
More than 300 BNU members recently voted to go on strike as they demand an industrial agreement be signed. Williams said the union is waiting for the Minister of Labour to sign their strike certificate.
“You need to provide a retention to keep your nurses here. The amount, that has to be worked out among unions, and only one union, the Bahamas Nurses Union,” she said.
She said three months ago she received a proposal for a retention bonus that would see nurses receive $3000 after five years of working following the signing of an industrial agreement. Under that proposal, she said, nurses with more than ten years would be eligible for a 50 percent advance in retention bonus after the industrial agreement is signed.
“The first year we get nothing,” she said. “I don’t think so. This proposal here that was given to me almost probably about three months ago by the chief consultant, look here, that to me is nothing. It’s obvious they did not read my industrial agreement. So we’re not making no deal with that. That is nothing for us when our salaries come in at the lowest among the professional body when we have strived just as great as any other professional body.
“We are not settling for that and I would not see the nurses settle for less. We have Bachelors degrees and some of us has Masters. We have post-graduate courses that we spend most of our time in and that’s why governments in various countries want us, because they know our capability and what we’ve been taught.”
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