The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

THE country is facing a national security risk in allowing the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to act as immigration officers, it has been claimed.

Striking immigration officers said the force (RBDF) lacked the skills necessary to safely man the borders, opening the country up to potential "terrorists and smugglers".

The RBDF has been working alongside senior immigration officers since Thursday when Customs and Immigration workers announced their strike, which was ongoing yesterday.

On their sixth day of protesting, dozens of officers lined the street outside of the Department of Immigration in Hawkins Hill, holding signs, ringing cowbells and chanting.

Grade two officer and Bahamas Customs, Immigration and Allied Workers Union member, Winnie Lindon, said: "You have Defence Force officers manning immigration; could they really do that? Could they really look at a person and tell that this person is in breach?

"Immigration officers are trained. Just by looking at someone, they are trained to see that something is wrong, Defence Force officers cannot," she said. "They might have had a course where they had a little training and reading a customs management act but they do have the experience? So our country is at risk to criminals and illegal drugs - our country is at risk. Do not let the government deceive you that it isn't. It truly is."

Another immigration officer who refused to give a name said the allowing RBDF officers to work at the airport shows immigration officers are "no longer the priority".

"It took me a while to be trained to do that job but I see that Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers, within the matter of an hour can be trained," he said. "I know those borders are not properly being manned. I think it's imperative that the government address these issues, not just for the sake of the happiness of its civil servants but for the effectiveness in the protection of its borders."

He added: "This is a very serious problem. RBDF officers are not trained - they are not trained to do that duty so you have to understand that it's a very serious national security risk on a twofold measure. Number one, RBDF are not being allowed to do their job and they're not doing our job, properly.

"It's a very serious risk because you must take into consideration that there are persons coming in through immigration that will probably be on the stop list, there are persons coming in that are not conducive to the good of the Bahamian people."

Officer K Renaldo Collie branded the Bahamas' borders "unmanned".

"Our borders are unmanned, right now. You have immigrants coming to the country, right now... we have people being waved through the system at the airport," Mr Collie said. "You have got Defence Force officers who do not know how to do immigration work. They got a crash course on how to press a stamp on a passport and that's it."

In response, a nearby immigration officer listening in, called out: "Terrorists and smugglers could come in".

Also protesting yesterday were customs officers who filled Rawson Square, in front of Parliament.

Customs and Immigration workers are striking over long-standing issues including salary and regulated shift hours.

Speaking yesterday, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said he was confused about the continued strike, saying all of the original concerns were previously resolved.

He said the issues they were striking on now, such as a new contract and health insurance, were additional items that were not the subject of the original strike vote.

"The Prime Minister has met with the union - with the leadership of customs and immigration. I have met four times with the union and I frankly just do not understand them because we have agreed in principal to pay shift premium and overtime pay retroactive to 2010. We have agreed to pay hazard allowance. All of the demands that the union has put in the trade dispute, we have agreed to settle. So frankly I really do not understand what the issue is now," Mr Foulkes said.

The amount of money that the government has agreed to pay Customs and Immigration workers is "significant," he said. "It's in the millions."