BPSU President John Pinder
Reader poll
In the ongoing benefits row between BEC Chairman Leslie Miller and the corporation's unions, who do YOU think is right?
- BEC Chairman Leslie Miller is right
- The BEC unions are right
326 total votes.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
AS many as 20,000 public servants “double dip” when on sick leave, costing the public up to $10 million extra a year and creating the potential for massive fraud, The Tribune can reveal.
BEC workers have recently come under fire for getting both regular pay and NIB benefits while out sick – nearly doubling their normal salary – but Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) president John Pinder revealed that this is actually the case for all but a small number of the approximately 24,000 Bahamian public servants.
According to Mr Pinder, getting rid of the system could save the public $8-10 million each year.
For her part, FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner said the practice is unethical, bad for the economy, and anyone who pretends to be sick to take advantage of the situation is essentially stealing from the public purse.
“It goes to demonstrate that within the public sector we don’t have the proper accounting system to show what’s been going on,” she said.
“The government can use that money in other areas and when the practice has ended, the money saved could help bring down the deficit because that is a lot of money to be paid out per annum.”
Noting she doesn’t support every action of BEC chairman Leslie Miller, Mrs Butler-Turner said his decision to end the double dipping practice at BEC is one she fully supports.
She also said she does not blame civil servants for benefitting from the double dipping system when they are actually sick, as this has been the practice for many years.
But now that the fundamental unfairness of the situation has been highlighted, anyone who chooses to take advantage is “robbing” the government.
“It would be unethical to try to continue it,” she said. “You shouldn’t be getting both. When you look at the Ministry of Finance and National Insurance, we have to bring them in line with regular private sector workers.”
PLP chairman Bradley Roberts said he “absolutely” supports Mr Miller, adding: “The practice is wrong. Why anyone would want to negotiate through something like that is beyond me.”
Mr Pinder said workers under the Hospital Authority, the Airport Authority and the College of the Bahamas are the only civil servants who cannot double dip. They account, he said, for only about 4,500 of the Bahamian public service community.
He estimated that through double dipping, about 15 per cent of the public service community takes advantage of the government.
Comments
TalRussell 11 years ago
If this shameless Union was a publicly traded identity I'd be calling up my broker to sell all my shares to invest in their Union company shares. In my years I've heard about lots of wrongs but at least the people behind those wrongs seemed at have a tiny bit of shame. This thinking is so insane it makes all the unfortunate Comrades up in the Sandilands Nut House, look sane. At least some-of them may benefit from rehabilitation.
Not even no Amen from this Comrade can help these Union leaders.
Tarzan 11 years ago
Right on Tal. And the PM now tells the union agents, he is going to give Mr. Miller a talking to? You can't make it up.
SP 11 years ago
Understatement of the year........"The Bahamas is a country steeped in corruption"
BoopaDoop 11 years ago
No wonder this corporation has suffered financial difficulties....high wages, excessive overtime, fully paid group insurance, and now double compensation for sick leave. Shameful.
B_I_D___ 11 years ago
I can gaurantee almost every government agency does it on a regular basis...probably a lot of private as well. We do monitor it and do NOT pay our sick if they are collecting from NI.
TalRussell 11 years ago
Let me as blunt as I can be without inviting a libel law suit. Even if this Union somehow got this ridiculous clause written into their contract with BEC, under common law it can be challenged cause any honorable man or woman on the streets would tell BEC Union Members, that here is no way in hell that any "Competent Persons" could have reasonably agreed to such ridiculous salary overpayment terms. That not only should they be ashamed of their collective actions against the Peoples Public Treasury but demand that every red-cent, amounting to millions of dollars paid out to BEC employees, should be ordered by the Chief Justice to be immediately repaid with interest. Comrades this is not a contract entered into by "Competent Persons" on behalf of BEC, regardless of which government administration they were authorized to act on behalf of. This economic insanity rises above petty party politics.
Guy 11 years ago
It is a rarity that I agree with you comrade Tal, but you are SPOT ON!! This madness has got to stop!
henny 11 years ago
Only in the Bahamas. One could never get away with this in the US. If caught collecting disability and a salary without reporting it you could end up in jail.
1voice 11 years ago
What is not understood by many though is that, if you are on sick leave, national insurance is not supposed to come out of your salary; this is according to the NIB law. However, to make the payroll system efficient it still comes out every month, if you are on sick leave or not. So in essence you are are just contributing to your sick leave.
concernedcitizen 11 years ago
In 1987 when our budget was 600 million a year our civil service payroll was 300 million .Sir Lyndon said at the time a country can not survive like this .Now our budget is 1.2 billion and our civil service payroll is 600 million the same ratio .. PGC et all know a country can not survive w/ 1 in 4 people on the public tit .You can not tax the other 3 people enough or borrow enough .The end result in 5 or 10 years is a devalued dollar ..There will be no change in our prolific baby making and public service jobs so i have already taking steps to protect my self in my old age ...Vat will only push back the inevitible devaluation of the Bahamian dollar ,it is as simple as that ,,
UserOne 11 years ago
The system allows them to double dip. I was on sick leave at one time and my employer paid my salary with the agreement that what I received from NIB I would pay back to my employer. Obviously the government employers were not doing this and allowing the employees to double dip.
It's a silly system anyway. It would make more sense if the employer would just pay the person who is off sick the portion of his/her salary not being paid by NIB.
1voice 11 years ago
I hope that you were not paying national insurance during the time you were off. If you were, and you paid your employer back, he made out because you already maid that sick leave contribution; when in fact you are not supposed to pay it when on sick leave.
TalRussell 11 years ago
Comrade User, if you're now saying that the scope of employees "double dipping their paychecks" extends beyond BEC, I would highly doubt this could possibly exist beyond any government owned, unionized corporation. If it does the business owners should be made to account to the insurers paying loss-of-wages employee benefits. PM with a stoke of the your almighty pen, you can and should put an immediate stop to this nonsense.
Reality_Check 11 years ago
Every current and past parliamentarian under both the FNM and PLP governments know about this long standing fraud perpetrated against hard working Bahamians but have done nothing for fear of their party (whether it be PLP or FNM) losing votes come election time. The Bahamian people need to rise up and tell their elected representatives enough is enough….tell them NO NEW TAXES OF ANY KIND UNTIL ALL EXISTING FORMS OF ONGOING FRAUDULENT (Vote Buying) ACTIVITIES ARE CEASED AND THE ILLEGAL NUMBERS SHOPS ARE CLOSED!
Guy 11 years ago
Lord help us! Contractually sanctioned double compensation for time off work at the expense of taxpayers, signed off by vote buying politicians??? Sounds about right! If we vote for crooks how can we reasonably expect that they not be criminals!? Vote better! Demand better!....or just shut and shake. Wat more yinna 'spect outta hog 'cept grunt!?
croberts6969 11 years ago
Topic of the day but in true Bahamian fashion this will die down in a few weeks and the practice will continue. I think Bahamians have ADD.
digimagination 11 years ago
'Twice the money for half the work' (no work at all!)
ThisIsOurs 11 years ago
I wonder if he'd be right in line banging on the PM's door if the public had not expressed their displeasure with Stephano Greene's demands. Oftentimes it's more about blindly supporting warped ideology than substance with these union heads. They fight for anything even if the cause is morally, ethically or professionally untenable. What ever happened to Elizabeth btw...?
Anyway, leading party with overwhelming majority, you now have the public, the opposition and the BPSU president on one side, you have 4 whole years in which to do something about this.
B_I_D___ 11 years ago
The really sad part about it is the employees think it is acceptable...that the double dip is due to them...they deserve it...they are entitled to it, and you are going to see pure resentment and attitude when they are called out on it and forced to stop it, like you've done them some wrong by plugging this loophole.
TalRussell 11 years ago
PM how in the hell can you permit something so distasteful that it challenges common sense? The man and woman on the streets demand that you damn well do whatever needs doing to remove any such language from any agreement which may lead the Union Masters to fool their members into believing that they are entitled to salary-double-dipp'in. PM you must know that Bahamalander's ain't go'in be sitt'in in no darkness for hours, while BEC is allowing "sinful-salary-double-dipp'in," when they BEC lights go off and not think; if it may not be a good time to consider jump'in off da PLP's leaky ship? PM, if you don't listen to the angry voices of the people, may I suggest that you have acknowledged a serious flaw in your leadership.
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