The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC servants will have the choice to receive their salaries either bi-monthly or monthly as the government intends to move forward with payroll reforms, Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said yesterday.

She said a survey launched in January by the Ministry of Finance found that most respondents support the semi-monthly payment system, though consultations with stakeholders are ongoing.

“The survey isn’t completed because we still have to meet with the final congress and we want to get their views. The meetings that we’ve had so far has been overwhelmingly positive towards shifting to the semi-monthly payments,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said yesterday on the sidelines of an event concerning training for Oracle Fusion and Oracle Cloud Bahamas, which will support the transition.

“The majority of persons so far that we have surveyed are in agreement for the semi-monthly payments, and as such, we will continue to talk to the stakeholders, one more congress that we need to meet with, and once we’ve done that, then we’ll have an analysis.”

Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) president Kimsley Ferguson called for a structured poll to gauge public servants’ opinions after Mrs Glover-Rolle initially projected early 2025 for the start of the bi-month system only to extend the timeline amid criticisms.

While the government has said it has met with stakeholder groups that support the shift, officials have not named the groups. Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson, who strongly opposes bi-monthly payments, said earlier this month that she met with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and was presented with a solution favourable to her union. She said a previous survey showed 83 percent of BUT members wanted to keep monthly salary payments.

The rollout date of the payroll reform remains unclear. However, Mrs Glover-Rolle has continuously emphasised that the postponement does not indicate the government has changed its position, as the administration believes bi-monthly payments will benefit public servants by providing more consistent cash flow between pay periods.

The move is part of broader efforts to modernise the public service, including electronic salary notifications, online job applications, and the Cloud Bahamas project to digitise operations. In May last year, Prime Minister Davis announced a $10m allocation for a public service salary review, noting that many salaries were too low and needed to be restructured.

Mrs Glover-Rolle has said the final decision on implementing the new system will be made after stakeholder meetings are completed.