The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller said yesterday if the government was “serious” about “stopping wastage” in the public sector it would start by cutting back on union benefits.

Mr Miller, executive chairman of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), said the government needs to “stop caving” in to every demand unions make because it is costing the Bahamian people millions of dollars “we cannot afford to waste”.

He spoke to The Tribune in the wake of a standoff between Bahamasair pilots and the government over contract negotiations.

“I am glad those Bahamasair pilots did what they did,” Mr Miller said. “You know why? Because now maybe the government will see the ripple effect their decisions have. It started with BEC, letting them get what they wanted. Now all the unions getting greedy and demanding more. They all want what BEC got. The government interferred in the process and now they are reaping their repercussions.

“They need to enforce discipline and make the tough decisions. This whole situation with the pilots will hopefully show the minister what I faced with BEC and why they should not have caved. As a result of their actions, people suffered and will continue to suffer. It is unfair to the public. Now because the pilots embarrassed the government, maybe they will face this head on and actually do something this time.”

Mr Miller said the government is doing “too much talking” with the union and if he were in charge, he would have fired the pilots immediately.

“The problem is they are (worrying) about votes and being re-elected. I could care less if you vote me in or not. I may lose, but at the end of the day the Bahamian people will win,” he said.

“After they did what they did, they still threatened to take things to another level. Who the hell they think they are? Fire them. Bahamasair trained those pilots and the sun will shine tomorrow with or without them. Anyone can be replaced. They need to understand they are dealing with unreasonable people. Stop caving to these unions! The government is imposing additional taxes and talking about tightening up their belts, well they need to start with these unions. It is time to get serious.”

More than a dozen Bahamasair pilots staged a two-day “sick out” that began on December 22, leaving the airline’s domestic and international flights grounded during the peak travel period.

The industrial action began after Bahamas Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) executives reportedly walked out of negotiations with the government over a new industrial agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis described the sick-out as “corporate sabotage”, implying that the action by Bahamasair pilots may hasten the government’s effort to privatise the cash-strapped airline.

Mr Davis, who has ministerial responsibility for Bahamasair, added that the pilots’ actions did not give the government any reason to consider expanding services or routes, and instead highlighted the need to reduce its heavy financial investment in the airline, which he called a burden.

Last week, Labour Minister Shane Gibson said the government is looking at how it can legally recover over $1m from the Bahamasair pilots who participated in the “illegal sick out”.

However in response, BALPA President Captain Joseph Moxey threatened to “take things to the next level” if his members’ salaries are cut for “calling in sick”.

Mr Moxey told The Tribune that his members were “legitimately sick” and were not involved in any industrial action in the days before Christmas.