The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHILE he agrees that sugary drinks should be taxed, Bahamas Electrical Workers Union president Paul Maynard criticised the government for its lack of comprehensive consultation with unions over the proposed two percent salary tax to pay for National Health Insurance.

He maintained yesterday that if NHI is to be successfully implemented, unions will have to get behind the concept.

Meanwhile, Bahamas Nurses Union president Amancha Williams said she could not support an additional tax on salaries, adding nurses remain on the lower end of the pay scale and have been there for many years.

"A country is only as good as you treat your old people and your young people and right now this country ain't looking too good," Mr Maynard told reporters on the sidelines of the BNU's lunch hour walkout at the Critical Care Block of the Princess Margaret Hospital.

"We treat our old people and our young people like dogs. It's ridiculous what we do around here."

He continued: "(Graham) Whitmarsh (National Health Insurance Authority managing director) has sat us down and he is willing to negotiate how we are going to pay for it. It's just a matter of how we are going to pay for it.

"We need to come to some agreement. The sugary situation is a good thing. We have to tax the sugary people. Our children are getting fat. It's a health thing. We cannot allow this to go on in this country.

"Honestly obesity is serious. You see I lost weight."

For her part, Ms Williams said: "The new tax, I disagree on the new tax. There should be a better way. We are paying 12 percent now (in value added tax). Our salaries have not increased. We are low on the scale with a bachelor's degree.

"Our entry is with a bachelor's degree and up to a master's and with a specialty and we are being paid to the bottom. When a police comes in with no qualification to the bottom, a nurse comes in with a bachelor's degree and four years in university or a master's. What are you saying to us?"

Last week, the NHIA proposed a contributory scheme in which the salaries of every employed Bahamian will be subject to a deduction of about two percent each month as a means to pay for universal healthcare coverage.

The group also revealed a proposal to tax sugary drinks and potentially other unhealthy products be implemented July 2019 to fund health education and outreach programmes.

However, government officials have said the proposals have not been decided upon, adding there will be public consultation before anything is formalised.