By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TEACHERS have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, a show of unrest a few days after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis expressed disappointment with unions’ fierce reaction to the government’s latest salary increases.

A Bahamas Union of Teachers survey released on Sunday found 87.8 percent of respondents in favour of taking industrial action over unresolved issues. The union said 92 percent of teachers also supported taking a strike vote. BUT president Belinda Wilson said she will advise members on the next steps following the results.

The vote deepened tensions that flared last week when Mrs Wilson described government pay increases — which she said ranged from $150, $200 and $341 — as “crumbs.” She urged teachers to stay tuned as pressure mounted within the public service.

She said many workers were demanding clarity on how the increases were calculated, adding that frustration was particularly high among those aware that other civil servants received $3,000 or more, with payments retroactive to September 2024.

Last week, Office of the Prime Minister Director of Communications Latrae Rahming said the administration will spend $20m a year to sustain its civil service salary increases. He said more than 17,000 civil servants received their adjustments on Wednesday.

In response, Mrs Wilson said yesterday: “We are still awaiting the listing as to who was paid and how much. The Prime Minister Philip Davis has sent a boy to do a man's job. I don't recall the Director of Communication being appointed as the Minister of Finance.

“To add insult to injury, Prime Minister Davis says he is disappointed in the reaction of the civil servants, but maybe if he has open dialogue and proper consultation with the Bahamas Union of Teachers and the Bahamas Public Service Union, then he would not need to be disappointed. Also, if he adheres to the Industrial Agreement and industrial goodwill, then he would not be disappointed. Mr Prime Minister, the civil servants are disappointed in you too.”

Mr Davis told reporters last week that he was disappointed with unions’ response to the increases and insisted they would have an opportunity to raise their concerns during upcoming negotiations. “The increases are something I gave to them, and they will have an opportunity during the course of their negotiations for their new industrial agreements to raise those issues there,” he said. “That was not a matter negotiated by them; it was something I did for them”

Union leaders have criticised the rollout of the salary adjustments, with some calling the increases too low and others saying some workers received nothing at all. The payments, which target officers excluded from earlier exercises, award at least two increments retroactive to September, with exact sums varying by category.

The move followed widespread protests in October over delayed increases and confusion about how the adjustments would be applied. Officials have said the exercise aims to narrow gaps between public service pay and the wider public sector, citing base-pay gains of 8 to 31 percent over four years, including a 19 percent rise for college graduates, such as graduate nurses and teachers.

The reform’s first phase targeted middle management at the end of June; the second phase covers the remainder of the service. However, union leaders said they were unsure if the process was complete because not all civil servants received payments.