By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE government intervened when the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) wanted to cut staff by 200 people last year, Labour Minister Shane Gibson said yesterday, adding that there is nothing the Christie administration can do now to prevent the impending loss of at least 150 workers from the company in March.

Yesterday, Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) President Bernard Evans said the impending staff cuts are “shocking” and “insulting.” He said BTC employees are “distraught” over the rushed, “sneaky” way the company is handling the move.

He said he learned on Tuesday that BTC intends to offer voluntary separation packages to 150 to 250 workers to leave the company before the end of March, in preparation for the liberalisation of the mobile sector.

Mr Evans said the move took him by surprise, especially as the company is expanding into television services which, in his opinion, would require more staff.

He said BTC is offering the separation packages to all staff with the hope of reducing the number of workers by March 31.

“They are going to launch a new TV product and you would think that instead of reducing staff they would need to add a couple staff,” he told The Tribune. “We heard rumours about this in late 2014, during the Christmas season. We normally meet every Tuesday and Thursday for contract negotiations and we thought we would open our books again to negotiate a new industrial contract on Tuesday, but we were told by management they were given instructions to offer voluntary separation packages to all staff with the dealing set for March 6 and them wanting to reduce staff by March 31,” he said.

“That was a shocker. We thought there would have been some sort of dialogue. It is supposed to be so immediate and that is what is so insulting. Why now? Why the rush? Given whatever excuses they might have, that they are looking at the forecast with a new entrant coming in. BTC is not haemorrhaging. We kept asking management about this. Every time the rumour would heat up they would say that they knew nothing about it. We thought they were not operating in good faith at all. With competition looming you would think they would have a better relationship with worker representatives.

“We had a meeting with our members and obviously it was heated. Members were distraught and taken aback by the urgency at which they presented this. Even though some may want to take it, there were people who applied and couldn’t get it because they (management) said it was off the table,” Mr Evans said. “Some people had looked at other opportunities before and now they may have lost that opportunity. This was a real sneaky way of doing things. That is what has us so up in arms. I understand that there is not a fixed number. We were not told whether they are looking for 150 or 250. I guess they are desirous of 150 minimum. That seems to be the number being spit out, but that hasn’t officially come from management.”

When contacted yesterday, Mr Gibson revealed that BTC wanted to lay off almost 200 persons late last year, but the government saved those jobs.

“When we spoke to them they told us they were streaming in preparation for liberalisation and they are forced to reduce and settle packages at a lower rate,” he said.

“I have not spoke with the union officially and I do not have all the details, so I can’t speak to the packages at this time. But I do know that BTC wanted to do the layoffs last year, but the government intervened and got them to put it off but now they are saying that they cannot put it off any longer.

“This is not the first time or the second time or the third time BTC has offered voluntary separation packages. This is an unfortunate situation and we never like to see people made redundant or laid off for any reason,” Mr Gibson added. “We would have liked for them to keep those people on and monitor the progress, but they decided to do this. We can oppose them as much as we want, but there is not much the government can do in this situation. We know this is going to be hard, especially for the older persons who will find it hard to get employment again.”

Last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced in the House of Assembly that three companies have submitted proposals to obtain the country’s second mobile network provider licence.

They are television and Internet provider Cable Bahamas as well as local subsidiaries of international telecommunications companies, Digicel and Virgin Mobile.

Mr Christie said the government is on target to announce the successful applicant in May.

BTC’s monopoly on mobile services ended last May.