The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Public Service Union president Kimsley Ferguson yesterday praised Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for relaxing the COVID-19 restrictions in New Providence, saying the move will bring much needed relief to the business community.

He also said union members are anxious to hear from government officials on efforts to better protect workers from contracting COVID-19 when the country starts to re-open on Monday.

Yesterday, the union president reiterated the need for more personal protective equipment among public servants.

In an effort to rectify the issue, Mr Ferguson said union officials are hoping to have a detailed discussion with Dr Minnis very soon to address their safety concerns.

He said: “Well, I did also hear the prime minister indicated that he is going to meet with unions and we are hopeful that when that happens, we will be able to get some of our concerns addressed. We do have some concerns with that particular regard.

“One of the things we can use to remedy the concern that healthcare workers may have is we can step up on the personal protective equipment. We can give them the suit and we can ensure that they have the masks and face shields.”

He continued: “We can also ensure that instead of some persons only getting a regular surgical mask, they can actually be issued with the N95 mask which is more protective as they carry out their various duties and we don’t want the administrators from the various healthcare institutions to discriminate between the nurses and doctors as opposed to the support staff because we have been receiving some complaints that support staff is not getting the actual protective equipment that they should be getting.

“So that is a concern for us, and we are hopeful that that will be addressed.”

The BPSU represents support staff at public healthcare facilities.

On Monday, Dr Minnis announced that most businesses in New Providence will be allowed to partially reopen on August 31, including restaurants and retail stores. Beaches will also be permitted to open on the island from 5am to 9am starting Monday.

The news came hours after he eased lockdown restrictions for Grand Bahama and several Family Islands, allowing the resumption of indoor church services, curbside business activity and outdoor dining as of yesterday.

As it relates to New Providence, Dr Minnis said the current lockdown restrictions will remain in place until 5am next Monday.

Speaking to reporters outside the Churchill Building yesterday, Mr Ferguson said he was impressed with a number of initiatives outlined in the prime minister’s address, including his decision to not cut the pay of public servants.

“I think the prime minister took a very bold initiative in that he maintained that his intention was not to cut the public service and again, I want to reiterate that the public service is also what is keeping the economy afloat presently and again, some of those various households that would have been impacted as hoteliers are actually those persons who have public servants carrying them. . .(with) monies to ensure that those particular homes stay afloat.

“And so again, I thought it was a very bold initiative on his part and we are hopeful that the hotels are going to open and the various properties are going to re-engage those persons who would’ve been laid off.”