The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMAS Power and Light probe into overtime payments found that just three employees in one department collected more than $600,000 in overtime in a year, prompting the utility’s board to move to tighten overtime rules, triggering a backlash from a BPL union.

Internal BPL records obtained by The Tribune show that three employees in the Fuel and Performance Department received a combined $601,295.16 in overtime between May 2025 and April 2026.

Two accounted for $483,281.53 of the total, receiving $265,551.83 and $217,729.70 respectively, while the third received $118,013.63.

Payroll information reviewed by The Tribune lists the annual base salaries of the two highest overtime earners as approximately $78,388 and $56,182 respectively.

Their overtime payments were therefore more than three times their annual base salaries.

The records show the payments accumulating through work involving fuel transfers, tankers, pumping fuel and other assignments.

Individual overtime claim sheets include numerous entries involving fuel transfers between facilities, ocean and fuel tankers, and work on projects.

In some months, individual employees received more than $20,000 in overtime.

The employee who collected $217,729.70 over the 12-month period received $25,000.11 in overtime in February 2026, $22,400.51 in January and $20,890.30 in October 2025.

The employee who received $265,551.83 was paid $26,273.01 in overtime in October, $24,927.16 in February and $25,504.38 in April.

The records also raise questions about the extraordinary number of hours claimed on individual days.

One overtime record from Christmas week shows an employee recorded as working 18 hours on Christmas Day, followed by 24 hours on December 26, another 24 hours on December 27 and 24 hours again on December 28 — a total of 90 hours over four consecutive days.

The findings have led BPL’s board to move to change the company’s approach to overtime, but the precise details of the existing policy and the new arrangements were unclear up to press time.

The dispute comes during a bruising summer for BPL, which has struggled to provide reliable electricity amid repeated outages and mounting public criticism over disruptions to electricity supplies.

The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union has responded to the overtime move by telling members to work only their normal hours and go home afterwards.

In a “high alert” notice, BEWU said BPL had introduced a new overtime policy that was neither discussed with nor shown to the union.

The union alleged the move directly breached Clause 30 of its industrial agreement and also accused BPL of harassing and intimidating executive officers, shop stewards and line staff.

“We will not stand for these injustices,” the notice said.

It urged members to work “NORMAL WORKING HOURS ONLY” and afterwards “GO HOME.”

Bahamas Electrical Workers Union president Kyle Wilson forcefully objected to the company’s move, arguing that BPL cannot unilaterally change arrangements governed by the industrial agreement.

“It’s against the industrial agreement,” Mr Wilson told The Tribune last night.

He said the amount workers earn is not the central issue if the payments were made according to negotiated terms and approved by management.

“If it’s in the industrial agreement, it must be respected,” he said.

Mr Wilson stressed that employees do not decide for themselves when they will work overtime.

“Overtime is only at the discretion of management,” he said.

The underlying records reviewed by The Tribune include monthly overtime claim sheets carrying approval entries.

Mr Wilson rejected criticism of workers who earned substantial overtime and argued that BPL should address any concerns through the unions rather than changing arrangements unilaterally.

“No one’s going to bully me or this union,” he said.

He also questioned why concerns over overtime were not addressed during negotiations for a new industrial agreement, which he said was signed in June.

Mr Wilson said: “We just recently signed a new agreement in June and if they had any concerns why didn’t they come to the union and explain those concerns before signing off on an industrial agreement?”

He also criticised BPL executive chairman Christina Alston, accusing her of being disrespectful towards the unions and implementing policies contrary to the industrial agreement.

Mr Wilson said he did not know the details of the new overtime policy.

He declined to characterise the union’s posture as work-to-rule.

“I encouraged people to come to work and do the jobs that they are paid to do, okay?” he said. “I don’t know what you’re referring to with work to rule.”

BEWU’s written notice, however, expressly tells its members to work only their normal hours before going home.

How much practical effect that could have on electricity operations is complicated by the restructuring of the sector in New Providence.

Bahamas Grid Company now manages New Providence’s transmission and distribution network, while BPL remains responsible for generation and continues to work alongside BGC.

Mr Wilson said that separation does not mean BPL workers are no longer involved in transmission and distribution work.

“A lot of overtime that our workers are working is to help Bahamas Grid,” he said.

He claimed BGC continues to rely on former transmission and distribution workers at BPL for assistance with some underground and overhead work.

“We were told these people were coming with expertise that we don’t have,” Mr Wilson said. “Yet still they’re relying on us, the former transmission and distribution workers, to assist BGC where they’re falling down.”

His account suggests the directive to restrict work to normal hours could, in some circumstances, mean BPL employees are unavailable to provide overtime assistance to BGC, although the extent to which that would affect operations is unclear.

Mr Wilson was sharply critical of BGC’s performance amid the recent electricity problems.

“BGC can’t keep the light on,” he said. “They need to focus on that and leave us alone.”

He also objected to the focus on what Bahamian employees earn while contractors and other companies are paid to perform work for the electricity providers.

Mr Wilson said: “If I’m a Bahamian and I earn my money according to what the industrial agreement says, you can’t go and change the agreement because you don’t like it because you have promises of millions to other companies.”

He also claimed foreign workers are earning considerably higher hourly rates than Bahamian employees, although The Tribune was unable to independently verify the figures he cited.

Mr Wilson said no one had approached him over claims that he had personally benefited substantially from overtime payments.

“They never came to me,” he said.