President of The Bahamas Public Services Union John Pinder on Wednesday threatened another strike vote – this time for workers at the Gaming Board who are protesting the way the government is handling their proposal for a new industrial agreement.
But one government official said union representatives need to be more flexible in negotiations.
The warning came after more than 90 workers at the Gaming Board staged a sickout on Wednesday.
Mr. Pinder accused the government of lacking compromise in negotiations. He said that the union had to actually change certain aspects of its proposal several times, but to no avail.
“Yesterday, negotiations came to a stalemate when we could not get the government’s negotiating team to actually compromise in [any] form or fashion as it relates to the proposal that was put forth on behalf of the staff members of the Gaming Board,” Mr. Pinder said.
“We changed proposals three times and still they do not want to bend. We bent over backwards to try to accommodate the government, but when it came to the remuneration part of it, we are having problems with the salary increases and the lump sum that is owed.”
Mr. Pinder claimed the proposal was fashioned after a proposal for managers at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. He claimed that ZNS fails to contribute to the treasury every year, yet still was awarded a sizable contract.
He added that the Gaming Board contributes more than $20 million annually to the treasury.
But Keith Archer, industrial relations consultant for the Gaming Board, said the agreement for ZNS managers couldn’t be compared to the one now being negotiated.
“It’s like talking about apples and oranges where we are talking about mangers’ level at ZNS, but we are not talking about managers at the Gaming Board,” Mr. Archer said.
“They are two distinct bargaining units. One is a regular bargaining unit, and one is a managers’ bargaining unit and you just cannot compare those like that.
“The other fallacy in their argument is that they are saying that they contribute about $21 million each year. The Gaming Board is set up in The Bahamas to collect casino taxes. The Gaming Board does not generate $21 million. The casinos do. All they basically do is oversee the account and make sure that the record from the government remains in tact.”
He said negotiations came to a standstill when it came time to discuss the financial portion of the proposal.
Mr. Archer claimed that the union initially wanted a three-year contract with a $3,000 lump sum payment; $1,100 in the second and third year added onto members’ salaries in addition to increments that can range from $500 to $700.
He said that the government refused that proposal and the union returned with a new three-year proposal requesting a $3,000 lump sum payment; $1,500 in the third year only in addition to increments.
The government then countered the first proposal with a settlement proposal of $1,500 lump sum payment and $1,200 in the third year in addition to increments, according to Mr. Archer.
He said the union refused the settlement proposal and now the government is offering a lower amount of a $1,000 lump sum payment, with $1,200 in the third year in addition to increments.
Mr. Archer said the union is not being practical in its demands and must remember that the funds it is requesting is coming from tax payers.
Chairman of the Gaming Board Kenyatta Gibson told The Bahama Journal that although he was not intimately involved with the negotiations he instructed government representatives to negotiate in good faith.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
