Unions are bringing pressure to bear on the embattled government of Prime Minister Perry Christie and are demanding resolution to their plight.
It was clear on Thursday that many unions are unhappy: The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union remained on reduced enthusiasm; and the public managers union at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, supported by the line staff union, created a ruckus outside BTC over ongoing industrial tension.
In addition, the president of the Bahamas Public Services Union again rejected the government’s offer for a lump sum payment for civil servants; Morton Salt workers under the leadership of their union executives voted to strike and the Teacher’s Union also raised industrial concerns.
In fact, the New Providence District of The Bahamas Union of Teachers held a membership meeting on Thursday at Walkers Hall on Bethel Avenue to discuss a wide range of issues, including the disrepair of schools and the government proposed $1,300 lump sum payment.
According to Union President Ida Poitier, although the Collective Bargaining Agreement is not yet even finished, the proposed lump sum payment is expected to replace a raise for teachers for the first year of the contract.
“The government has made a proposal of $1,300 to be paid in two increments, $600 in September and $700 in January,” Mr. Poitier said in an interview at the union’s hall on Thursday.
“They are asking us to use that as the monetary portion of the first year of our Collective Bargaining Agreement-we are looking for a three year agreement.”
Mrs. Poitier said that members would most likely object to the payment.
“We would probably be pushing for something more,” she said. “What the members here in New Providence are really asking for is something attached. They would really like to have something attached to their salaries instead of a lump sum, which really has no benefit to them in the long run.”
During this meeting, the issue of unfinished repairs to schools was also discussed.
On Thursday, teachers at the C.W. Sawyer Primary School staged a sit-out in protest of an unfinished barrier between the school and the busy new Harrold Road highway.
Mrs. Poitier said teachers thought that the conditions were unsafe for them and the students.
“At C.W. Sawyer Primary the fencing was taken down over the holiday,” Mrs. Poitier said. “The workers, I saw two today, they are constructing a wall now. We do not know when it will be ready, but C.W. Sawyer sits on the highway of Harrold Road.
“The teachers today decided that they would sit-out until they have the answers as to when it will be fixed because of the safety of the children.
“In addition, they have been told that they must give up their lunch hour to hold the children inside the school and not let them out. This was unacceptable as they were not prepared to do that for a second year.”
She added, “Last year, there were no railings on the stairways and the teachers were again asked to give up their lunch hour so that they can keep the children in the classrooms to avoid them having accidents for the stairways.”
Mrs. Poitier added that she is not certain whether school will resume for students of C.W. Sawyer on Friday.
She said teachers will be there, but she remained uncertain whether they will be teaching.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
