THE Bahamas Nurses Union was yesterday in celebratory mode with the signing of a new industrial agreement between the BNU and the Public Hospitals Authority, giving them a retention bonus and salary increases.

The signing yesterday at the Office of the Prime Minister signified stage two of better conditions for nurses.

Earlier this month, the Department of Public Health signed an agreement with the union with increased benefits. “This industrial agreement is one of the best (to be finalised),” BNU president Amancha Williams said yesterday.

She said the features of the new agreement were increased salaries for nurses, particularly junior nurses and retention bonuses to tackle the years-long problem of nurses leaving the country for more lucrative opportunities.

“In the industrial agreement there is a retention bonus plan, created by The Bahamas government,” she said. “Also we have gone up on the scarcity allowance so our scarcity allowance for our trained clinical nurse was $167 and was $200 for the RN (registered nurse). We have increased that by $60 more so that’s $300 for the staff nurse and $200 plus for the TCN (trained clinical nurse).

“Here again the retention plan is not one of the best, but it is there to retain. I tell my nurse this: it’s one to five years, after five years you get a bonus of $2,000. It’s just not the nurse receiving that, it’s teachers also that we have a shortage of and so it would benefit the community at large. That’s two avenues that have high increases.

“We have a number of increases in that industrial agreement that will raise the salaries. One of my goals as a president is to see every nurse in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas at a starting salary of over $30,000. When you travel to the United States the range of salary might be $46,000 for an unseasoned nurse but for a junior nurse here making over $30,000 I say thank you to the government.

“Numerous benefits are in that industrial agreement. We created a pandemic and disaster article there that gives the nurse a $10 per hour increase on her salary during a pandemic or a disaster. So, that is new, so also $100,000. We say thank you because we’ve never had that.”

Ms Williams also told new nurses that they must love the job and people.

“It is not just about the money. We must do a service to our community. Serve the people. Nobody is alike. But you have skills and are designed to take care of and to counsel.

“So, continue to do that good job and the union will continue to fight for you for more money.”