Bahamas Public Services Union President John Pinder.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
AS the Christie administration seeks to clamp down on “double dipping” in the public sector, Bahamas Public Services Union President John Pinder is preparing to take the government to court over its actions.
As of February 1, civil servants were no longer allowed to collect full pay as well as sick benefits from the National Insurance Board (NIB) – a practice that has been going on for years.
According to a January 22 letter circulated to all permanent secretaries, heads of departments and finance officers, those public servants who do not claim NIB sick leave benefits within a certain time period will have their pay cut in the amount of the claim.
NIB will provide the government with quarterly reports of claims by government employees and the Treasury will then make salary deductions, the letter adds.
The letter, signed by Public Service Permanent Secretary Hyacinth Winder Pratt, says people given more than four consecutive workdays of sick leave are now mandated to have their NIB claim forms completed and submitted to relevant officials three months from the first day of their illness.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Pinder said the move amounts to creating a blanket policy that would deduct money from the salaries of all people who make sick claims from NIB, even those who desperately deserve the extra cash.
The government, Mr Pinder said, “is of the view that it doesn’t want employees to receive more than their base salary.”
While the government may be concerned about how much money it is spending in the public service, Mr Pinder said the real source of the problem are doctors who give workers more sick days off than they need.
He is concerned that through the new policy, genuinely sick people will become financially overburdened.
“We are aware that some persons are abusing this but that’s not all the employees’ fault,” he said. “It’s the fault of physicians who give numerous days of sick leave based not always on what employees are feeling. But really sick people who have extra expenses because they have to pay for medical procedures and medications will face a lot of problems because of this. Rather than having a blanket policy they should deal with this on a case-by-case basis. And rather than taking all the money at one time they should take the money on an incremental basis.”
Mr Pinder said the union’s lawyers are expected to file court documents by the end of the week to have the policy undergo a judicial review, as he believes it contravenes the Employment Act.
In March 2014, Minister of Labour Shane Gibson said the practice of “double dipping” had been eliminated for workers at public corporations. At the time, it was unclear if the government would expand this to the whole public sector.
Comments
Honestman 8 years, 9 months ago
The government, Mr Pinder said, “is of the view that it doesn’t want employees to receive more than their base salary.”
NIB sick pay is not supposed to supplement base pay but is intended to cover individuals for loss of income while sick and unable to work. Then Pinder tries to blame the doctors for writing sick lines!! This man needs to be retired.
croberts6969 8 years, 9 months ago
Pinder is an idiot.
"But really sick people who have extra expenses because they have to pay for medical procedures and medications will face a lot of problems because of this."
You mean like the rest of the workforce in the Bahams you ignoramous jack ass.
I swear an idiot leading idiots.
John 8 years, 9 months ago
A lot of employers will get the shock of their lives when they try to bring their National Insurance payments up to date. Because of the increase of the minimum wage (by 40%). NIB contributions have increased likewise. So a worker who was earning $150.00 a week was paying yearly contributions of $567 give or take (employer and employee combined). Now the contributions for that employee has increased to over $1,000 per year or by 40%. So if an employer has say 20 workers at minimum wage his labor cost and NIB payments has virtually doubled. Where does this additional revenue come from easpcially if the business was barely breaking even before the increases. In light of that many businesses are reporting that February 2016 is the worse one they had (in terms of sales and revenue) since 2008.
themessenger 8 years, 9 months ago
It doesn't really matter Mr. Pinder, by the time our government has finished bailing out BoB to the tune of another 150 million, not to mention the other unpaid loans from NIB by various governments over the last two decades, there won't be anything left for sick benefits never mind pensions for us who have paid into the system for the last 45 years and are now reaching retirement age. We have been led down the garden path and have been royally shafted in broad daylight.
GrassRoot 8 years, 9 months ago
The thinking of Mr. Pinder is in line with the DNA of many Bahamians, make more money not working, than if you work. This is the Bahamian style version of the ""work smart, not hard".
themessenger 8 years, 9 months ago
Too right GrassRoot, "The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living
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