The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

OBIE Ferguson, the Trade Union Congress president, wants the government to increase the minimum wage of the average Bahamian worker, which currently stand at $150 per week. Mr Ferguson said $30 per day is totally unacceptable: workers, he said, should be paid between $350 to $375 on a weekly basis.

He was speaking to scores of public servants who gathered at a rally on Tuesday night. The unions have been threatening for days to strike for a three-day period. They have not revealed when the action would take place, but insist that it is the only solution to gain the government’s attention over multiple long standing concerns.

“We need to as workers,” Mr Ferguson said, “demand a bigger portion of the economic pie. This we can do if we stand together in solidarity. Thirty dollars per day is the minimum wage for a worker in the Bahamas; that is totally unacceptable and as such is one of the reasons why we say we need to stand still for a few days so that our legislatures can appreciate that there is a difference between minimum wage and living wage.

“Your labour is a factor of production which is not now being recognised in any real way.”

Mr Ferguson further criticised the Department of Labour. He said its function has been reduced to that of a “toothless poodle”, lacking relevance and effectiveness.

“It needs a complete overhaul. It needs to be more productive and efficient. Two conciliations per day is not productive. That behaviour leads to clogging the system, the effect of which is the users of the system become disenchanted with the system.

“The workers of the Bahamas are demanding a 21st century labour relations system, one that is fair and efficient for both the employers and workers. The Labour Board and the Industrial Tribunal is not designed to assist the working class,” he said.