Sunday 23RD October, 2005

I am pleased to announce that the draft Industrial Agreement for the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) was approved by the Cabinet in its session on Tuesday 18th October.  The draft agreement is a proposal and those proposals will be advanced to the Bahamas Public Service Union tomorrow morning, Monday 24th October, 2005.  It is the hope of the Government that they will be accepted in the spirit in which they are offered and that with the exchange of proposals expected tomorrow that negotiations for a new agreement will ensue with dispatch and reach a successful and reasonable conclusion by Christmas.

I need to say here that in drafting these proposals, there were a number of facts and rationales at work.   First there was the need to be responsible in the use and deployment of public funds for and on behalf of the Bahamian taxpayers.

Then, there was the need to respond to the specific requests made by the Bahamas Public Service Union in their proposal for an industrial agreement presented to the Government earlier in the year.

Further, it is the wish of the Government to engage in an exercise that is more comprehensive that would lead ultimately to effective reform of the public service.  In this regard, the Government was especially driven by the complaints of the public and employees of the service themselves about the productivity of the public service and its ability to produce on a timely basis the goods and services demanded by the public.

There was also need to begin to rationalize the management procedures of the public service to provide more management flexibility, updating and revising the General Orders that are the basic rules for the management of the Service and seeking to place more effective control of Ministries within the ministries themselves. In doing so, it is believed that this will enhance the accountability of each Ministry to the Government and then ultimately to the Parliament.   This will require some revisions to the Public Service Commission rules, and to the General Orders.

A further rationale was the fact that we are operating within financial constraints.  The Minister of State for Finance is part of the Cabinet sub Committee, and his professional team are a part of the professional advisory committee that worked on the draft proposals.  It is clear that the country has financial obligations to its lenders both here and abroad.  This means that the budget forecasts and management have to be adhered to in the strictest manner possible.  To deviate from these forecasts, without some emergency, some Act of God will adversely affect the country’s rating; its reputation for fiscal and monetary prudence.

Further, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance made it clear to the Cabinet, that unless the financial part of the package was reasonable and within budget, it would force the Government to raise taxes, and that he was not prepared to go to the Bahamian people with additional taxes simply to accommodate salaries in the public sector.  There is a need therefore for all of us to continue to sacrifice as the country continues to recover from the hurricanes which struck us last year.

The underlying rationale then with regard to financial matters was to provide public servants with a wage that is fair and reflective of their responsibilities but with a requirement for productivity, and emphasis on merit in order to receive raises.

Underlining all of this is the responsibility to the other 160,000 working Bahamians who pay taxes and ultimately the salaries of the public servants.  No government can be irresponsible for the taxes which these hard working people pay to run the machinery of the Government.

While we do not propose to go into specifics this afternoon, we believe that the BPSU would see itself a proactive and progressive Union.  They approached the Government for the creation of an Industrial Agreement.  The Government therefore embraced the opportunity with the proposed agreement that will be presented tomorrow.

The draft will cover, education and training to make it more responsive, and representing a larger non discriminatory financial commitment for training.  On health and safety, the draft is in line with existing labour legislation, involves the Government and employee in making joint determination on health and safety issues.

It seeks to implement provisions on Conflict of Interest and Sexual harassment.  It addresses the question of domicility of employees who move to Nassau at the request of the Service from the Family Island.  It covers allowances, wage and productivity, and it accepts the union’s position on shift work.

Now is the time for serious negotiations on these matters.  We ought to act with speed to bring these matters to a conclusion by Christmas and without acrimony.  We must all resist the temptation at political grandstanding but work for the betterment of the Bahamian people.