NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) president Sherry Benjamin said yesterday that the union that represents line staff at The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is “hopeful” for positive developments with a new CEO.
However, Benjamin told Eyewitness News the union was also “watchful” while expressing concern over a “brain drain” at the telecoms provider.
The BCPOU president noted that the company’s long-running voluntary separation packages are still “on the table”.
“We have a VESEPS package still on the table from the previous CEO,” she said.
“We have people leaving this month and probably next month as well. Realistically we don’t have anyone else to let go. The company is already brain drained. A lot of key players are leaving and coming out of the business and I would think they want to revamp the workforce,” said Benjamin.
Last week, BTC announced the appointment of Sameer Bhatti to the position of Chief Executive Officer.
According to a statement from BTC, Bhatti, a Bahamian national, joins the company from Comcast where he spent the past ten years as an executive in commercial and channel development roles. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Juniper Networks and Verizon in the United States.
Bhatti will oversee the company’s commercial operations across The Bahamas.
Benjamin said: “We met with the new CEO last Tuesday, roughly the same time they met with his leadership team So far his vision is something we can align with. He came with an impressive resume.
“We have agreed to give him an opportunity to implement that vision and partner with him to ensure that the company is successful, however, we are mindful that people often come in with great ideas and they fizzle out. That is something we expressed as well. We are hopeful that we will have a positive outcome with the new CEO however we remain watchful.”
