The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister was yesterday said to have “disavowed” a Ministry of Finance statement that warned that last week’s sick-out by finance officers could cost their fellow civil servants some $7m.

Kimsley Ferguson, the Bahamas Public Services Union’s (BPSU) president, told Tribune Business that Fred Mitchell, the senior minister responsible for the public service, had sought to distance himself and the Government from a statement that threatens to damage labour relations with its civil servants.

Speaking after the Ministry of Finance warned of potential consequences from last week’s “co-ordinated sick-out” by an estimated 100 finance and accounting officers, which it asserted has cost the Government some $7.5m in lost revenues and efficiency, the BPSU chief said he viewed the statement as both “a threat” and an effort to divide the civil service.

Confirming that he spoke to Mr Mitchell on the matter over the weekend, Mr Ferguson told this newspaper: “He called me yesterday [Saturday] and indicated that he spoke to the Prime Minister and disavowed any knowledge of the release, and the release had nothing to with the Government. That’s what I was told by the minister of the public service.”

Mr Mitchell could not be contacted for comment before press time last night, despite calls being made and messages left, but Tribune Business was told by well-placed sources speaking on condition of anonymity that both himself, the Ministry of Public Service and others in the Davis administration had been “taken aback” by the Ministry of Finance’s tone and content.

It is understood that the Government is trying to avoid comment on the matter for fear of further inflaming the situation after the sharp, spiky statement effectively sought to pit the finance and accounting officers against the rest of the civil service.

“Finance and accounting officers throughout the public service withdrew their service between 14-18 February, 2022, through a co-ordinated sick out. The impact of this action on the delivery of services was severe,” the Ministry of Finance’s statement said.

“No payments to vendors or employees were processed and, more importantly, the accounting and collection of revenue were impacted. The estimated financial impact of this co-ordinated sickout to the Government was $7.5m due to revenue lost or foregone and lost efficiency.”

Then, in an ominous warning, the Ministry of Finance suggested that the actions of the few may negatively hurt the many. “The immediate impact of this co-ordinated sick-out would be that promised payment of increments for the fiscal year 2020-2021 to public officers could be delayed further,” it said.

“The Prime Minister had indicated in the supplementary Budget that a decision on reinstating those increments would have been made around the mid-year budget, which would cost the Government an additional $7m. Given the losses experienced by the sick-out, this reinstatement in all likelihood would be deferred.”

Mr Ferguson, responding yesterday, said: “In my view, it’s a threat to public servants. In my view, that’s a tactic to try and turn public officers against their colleagues for whatever reason.” He also rejected the Ministry of Finance’s assertion that he had effectively disappeared when the finance and accounting officers staged their sick-out.

“As this was not industrial action authorised by the Bahamas Public Service Union, the bargaining agent for this group of employees, the Government is not aware of any grievance,” the release added.

“The president of the BPSU, Kimsley Ferguson, was also unavailable to meet with public officials for the entire week of the sick-out. However, Mr Ferguson had previously been in contact with Ministry of Finance officials concerning matters related to finance and accounting officers.

“The Government is steadfast in its belief that no one group of employees should hold the entire public service hostage and treat all public officers fairly. It is unfortunate that this selfish act has impacted so many other public officers through the possible continuation of increment deferrals, and also vendors of the Government.”

Tribune Business understands that Mr Ferguson and the BPSU had been speaking to Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, and a team of officials to try and address the accounting and finance officers’ concerns.

The BPSU chief, though, said he had spoken to Prime Minister Philip Davis on Tuesday and Mr Mitchell at the House of Assembly in Wednesday. He added that the latter “did not have any questions relating to the sick-out”.

Mr Ferguson added that he also spoke to Mr Davis “last week Friday”. He said: “When I asked about the increment payments, the Prime Minister indicated that the public service made a total mess of what he intended. While payment was made, his instructions” were not followed.

The civil service union head said he was speaking about increments for “every public servant whose increments have been withheld”, and added that it was unclear whether those giving or executing the payment instructions were to blame.

Suggesting that wider civil service grievances have yet to be addressed, Mr Ferguson said he had provided Mr Mitchell, Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of state for the public service, and their team with papers detailing the concerns of the finance officers and others when they met in January.

“These documents refer to the career paths, the salary scales and the different variances that the finance officers were concerned about,” Mr Ferguson said. “I placed them in Mr Mitchell’s hands personally. He’s quite aware of what the concerns actually are.

“I will be seeking an update. We were advised they will get back to us. I’m disappointed at this particular juncture that, from the first time we met, nobody has called us back to apprise us of any issues presented to them. It was all the issues, not just the accounting officers’ issues. We’ve to-date never received a response.

“I will pursue a written response some time this week so that we have something on the record indicating we did meet and have not received a response.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance’s statement is threatening to also ignite a political firestorm by pointing the finger of blame at the Minnis administration for the situation concerning the accounting officers. It alleged that the matter had been “complicated” by unnamed “senior public officials” granting unauthorised promotions and pay increases in February 2021.

“The matters pertaining to issues of promotions and allowances are long-standing matters, and their resolution has been complicated by a decision by senior public officials in the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury to give these same officers an unauthorised pay increase and promotions in February 2021,” the Ministry of Finance said.

“Finance and accounting officers received an average salary increase of $5,000 during this exercise, although no approval was ever granted by the Public Service Commission. This lack of approval from the Public Service Commission means that these officers can’t receive job letters reflecting their new salaries, and their retirement benefits would also not reflect their new salaries.

“Work started in October 2021 to correct this situation. Still, some finance and accounting officers apparently believe that they should be exempt from the public service’s financial rules. Through this co-ordinated work stoppage they felt they could have coerced the Government to accept this unauthorised pay increase,” the statement continued.

“The Government is committed to continuing the exercise to regularise this unauthorised pay increases received by these officers. The Government would also take steps to minimise future disruption in its services by the illegal withdrawal of labour from this class of employees.”

However, Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance under the former Minnis administration, rejected the assertion that the pay increases and promotions were “unauthorised”. He added that they were approved by both the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Public Service and, subsequently, the Cabinet.

“I am advised that the career path and salary scale for accounting and audit officers were approved by the Ministry of Public Service and the Public Service Commission. This was done prior to me [being appointed] in November 2020,” he told this newspaper.

“I am not aware of the Ministry of Finance or Treasury making any increases not properly authorised. I am also advised that the Cabinet approved the accounting and audit officers’ salary scale and career path as well.”

A source familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said public officials would never have made a move on pay increases and promotions without a Cabinet conclusion to support it. And Ministry of Public Service and Public Service Commission approval was obtained, they assured, which is required before the matter can go to Cabinet.

“The finance officers’ pay was so out of whack with the private sector that the Government had to do something to retain accountants and get new ones,” the source said. “The Government was on a mission to get new accountants into the public sector.

“In implementation the Treasury may have inappropriately put certain people in certain salary scales. There were anomalies, but it’s not unusual. There were some issues, but they were isolated. I think they [the Ministry of Finance] are frustrated with the finance officers. I think it’s going to get real messy. You need to be dealing with this in-house. You need to pull the troops together and get them of one accord.”