The Tribune

BAHAMAS Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard announced a work-to-rule for his members last Tuesday. Two days later, he quickly reversed his decision.

“We have lifted the work-to-rule because we’re going to show maturity and we’re going to be the bigger ones in here, and we’re going to be responsible,” Mr Maynard told The Tribune. “We’re not going to put that kind of pressure on the company, but what we expect is the government to give us our due. We negotiated with them, and we expect them to honour what we negotiated.”

When his members demonstrated outside BEC’s main office last Tuesday, Mr Maynard said that as BEC chairman Leslie Miller was unwilling to pay them overtime, they would not work overtime – to the “detriment of the Bahamian people.”

That is true, but this “detriment” works both ways — and we think the union quickly realised this. No overtime, no overtime pay, and so as the old saying goes by withdrawing their labour they would be “cutting off their own noses to spite their own faces.”

Therefore, although a work-to-rule would be a public inconvenience should the electricity shut down, it would also be an inconvenience to workers whose overtime pay would also shut down— and so with Christmas-a-coming it could mean that Santa would not be able to be as generous this year.

Therefore, the quick reversal of the work-to-rule decision might have been in consideration of the pressure being put on BEC, as well as it might have been because of the pressure that would have been put on the workers’ individual pocketbooks.

On Friday, in an attempt to justify the contribution workers have made to BEC’s $450m debt, Mr Maynard said that the nearly $5m overtime paid to workers this year was well deserved and hard earned.

We do not dispute this, but like Mr Miller, we find some of the hours consumed in overtime an almost impossible feat for any human being.

For example, over a five-year period with a base salary of $49,547, one employee alone accumulated $421,361.66 in overtime. The total in overtime pay for ten employees came to more than $2m — $2,393,152.99. And in an 8.5-year period 14 employees’ overtime pay totalled more than $3m – $3,440,012.09.

We do not dispute that they earned it, but whether well earned or not, it is too heavy a financial burden for this small nation.

The Bahamas has a population of only 377,374. Compare that to BEC’s overtime burden from October 2013 to September 2014, totalling $7,555,051.94 — even a contribution of $1 from every man, woman and child could not meet BEC’s overtime for those 11 months.

BEC’s debt of $450m includes $128m owed to Shell Western. Add to this expense, not only BEC’s staff overtime, but the annual $9m payment to the staffs’ $157m pension fund to which they make no contribution, in addition to the $5 to $6m annual medical fund, again to which they contribute nothing. There is also about half a million a year for transportation and for meal vouchers add on another $400,000 a year.

Despite BEC chairman Leslie Miller’s best efforts, there is little wonder that Bahamians’ electricity costs are so high and they cannot benefit from the global drop in oil prices. In the US today, fuel at the pumps is $2.81 a gallon.

Union leader Maynard explained that workers had no choice but to take on intense workloads to compensate for BEC’s archaic equipment and a shortage of specialised staff.

It is true that the equipment is not in top shape — of course it also depends upon how diligent staff have been over the years in maintaining it to the required operational standard.

At the end of last week, when the cloud cover was so thick over New Providence, an engineer said that as he drove past Albany on a high rise in the road, he could see the fumes billowing up from the BEC plant. Trapped by the heavy clouds overhead, instead of being blown out to sea, the fumes were being dispersed over the exclusive resorts of Albany and Lyford Cay. It was such a spectacular and troubling sight that he got out of his car to take a photograph. His comment was that from the colour and foul smell of the fumes, BEC engines were at the end of their days. Taking all of this into consideration, very hard decisions have to be made about BEC and the future generation of power to keep the lights on and engines running in this country.

Rostering of staff is not the only answer, but it would be a place to start. This is not to suggest that many staff at BEC are not highly qualified, but they know, just as the public knows, much hiring is done in the civil service based on one’s politics, not necessarily on one’s ability. This has to stop and stop immediately — not only at BEC, but from top to bottom of the civil service. Yes, even to the selection of ambassadors to represent the Bahamas abroad.

Unless there is an urgent shake-up and restructuring at BEC from the staff down, the whole corporation will collapse.

It’s now time to take a closer look at staff and equipment to see what is needed. Now is the time to decide how power should be generated in the future.

It is obvious that the country cannot afford a rise in costs at BEC — in fact it cannot afford BEC’s present costs. The concentration now must be on bringing costs down. At least BEC union demands have exposed the country’s vulnerability when it comes to generating power.

A decision has to be made about future equipment. Staff has to be streamlined, an effort must be made to attract top engineers and to keep those they now have. A plan must be worked out to roster all staff throughout the organisation. Eventually, overtime should be a thing of the past.

Obviously, this can’t be done overnight, but now — TODAY — is the time to start.

BEC must be prepared for sale. However, as it stands now it would be difficult to find anyone willing to rebuild a new plant.

Nevertheless, a plan should be found quickly to keep the lights burning.