The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Public Service Union president Kimsley Ferguson says the union hopes to meet with government officials “in the next week or so” to discuss the proposed minimum wage increase, saying the proposal “is not much of a difference” from workers’ current wage.

Last week, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis revealed that government had submitted a proposal to BPSU to increase the minimum wage in the public sector, with incremental increases starting in July.

 He made the comments while delivering his budget communication in the House of Assembly.

 According to Mr Ferguson, the government had proposed a minimum wage increase from $210 to about $250 a week. 

 However, he said the union wants “nothing less than at least $350 per week” given the high cost of living in the country.

 “We got the proposal. It’s $210 now so I think it may have been an additional probably $38 or $40. It’s not much of a difference,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “While the government may be seeking to increase minimum wage, the union is more concerned about a liveable wage as opposed to a minimum wage.”

 “Based on the fact that salaries were what they were prior to Hurricane Dorian, prior to COVID-19 and when inflation has kicked in, the cost of living has escalated. These salaries, for persons who are receiving minimum wage, they really can’t compete.”

 Mr Ferguson said many public service workers are left with little to nothing after monies would’ve been deducted from their salaries. As a result, workers are struggling to make ends meet, he added.

 “People are just merely surviving and making decisions on whether to pay the rent or put food on the table,” he said.

 “Our view is that minimum wage should be nothing less than at least $350 per week. Also, the concern with minimum wage is that we believe that the government is adamant about increasing minimum wage because those persons who come into the public service and who would then have responsibility for contributing to their contributory pension plans, those monies would actually come from their salaries and persons would find themselves after contributing to the pension plan at less than minimum wage so we’re of the view that after the contributory pension plan has been deducted from person’s salaries that they should leave with a liveable wage.”

 Asked yesterday if the union supported the government’s proposal, Mr Ferguson only said that negotiations were still ongoing.

 He said: “I wouldn’t want to say that we don’t support it because it’s still an item that’s being negotiated and I would not want to say that I support it, but we’re of the view that the liveable wage should be at least $350 and that is what we like to see the government give to public servants who are at the lower end of the disparity.

 “We haven’t gone back to the table as yet, but we’re hopeful that in another week or so that we will be sitting at the table making some decisions on what public servants perceive as a result of what was communicated in the budget communication so we will reserve our comments until we arrive at an amicable solution.”

 Government officials have previously said that phasing the country’s minimum wage into a ​liveable wage remains a key priority for the Davis administration.