By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Minister Shane Gibson admitted yesterday that Customs and Immigration officers should receive raises. However, he said the government is not in a financial position to do so at this time.

He also reiterated that any Customs or Immigration officers who do not show up to work will have their salaries cut and letters placed in their files.

Speaking with members of the press, Mr Gibson said he is willing and ready to meet with the Bahamas Customs and Immigration and Allied Workers Union and reach a compromise.

“You have pockets of officers who are being defiant and coming to work as they see fit. I guess they are the ones who think they own the job, or they must have other motives, but for the most part people are showing up for their assigned shifts. The idea at this stage is really for everyone to come to the table and sit down and see how we can reach a compromise and so the government’s position is – and I said it from day one – we believe that Immigration and Customs officers should be compensated more. We believe that their salaries aren’t in line with where we would want them to be, but unfortunately at this time the country cannot afford it.

“So we aren’t saying they shouldn’t get more, we are just saying they cannot get more at this particular time, but the idea is for them to come and sit and work on a compromise. At the end of the day, if the government decides arbitrarily one day to say they are in breach of their contract and stop their pay, they will make noise. So likewise when they withdraw their labour we make noise and we cut their salary. That is the way it works. When you strike you say to the public that you are withdrawing your labour. Once you do that, you cannot be paid.”

Mr Gibson said the government has no intentions of firing the officers if they do not show up to work but they will not let the officers run over the government as they have in the past.

“We won’t replace officers, we will discipline them and put letters on their files and hopefully it won’t affect their long term employment, but if the officers want these negative things on their files they can continue to do what they are doing and being defiant,” he said.

“We won’t just terminate officers, that is not going to happen. There is a grievance procedure set out. If an officer or public servant refuses to carry out their duty we will follow the grievance procedure. It will not be like it was in the past where it will linger on. If they think they are going to do what they did in the past and still be compensated and paid, it won’t happen. We want to get this behind us. The message is clear, they deserve more, we want to give them more, but we cannot afford to give them more.

“We cannot agree to arbitrarily give a small group a lot, and give the big group nothing. I am not protecting Shane Gibson’s money. This is not my money, this is the public’s money. If the public wants them to have this money they can petition the government and say ‘give them what they want’, but there are consequences because as you spend more, you need to generate more revenue.”

Workers voted on Friday to determine whether to go on strike to protest the government’s failure to address their concerns, including giving medical insurance to more than 300 clerical staff at the Customs and Immigration Department.

Union officials said that a request for a strike certificate was requested from the Department of Labour, adding that the certificate is valid for one year.