By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT ministers have pushed back against criticism from the Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU), insisting the public service is actively addressing nurses’ concerns and attributing delays in regularisation to procedural bottlenecks, not neglect.

Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said yesterday that officials have maintained constant communication with the union and are steadily processing outstanding matters. She noted that most of the 12 unresolved regularisation letters were already with the Ministry of Health before nurses staged a protest on Monday. The remaining cases, she said, were scheduled to be addressed this week.

She said the union’s president regularly visits the Ministry of Public Service for updates and has expressed appreciation in formal meetings. Given the ongoing engagement, she questioned the necessity of Monday’s demonstration.

BNU members protested outside the orientation of newly recruited Ghanaian nurses, accusing the government of overlooking Bahamian professionals, some of whom remain unregularised despite working for over a year, in some cases without pay.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville has previously acknowledged that the delays have created frustration, blaming the slow pace of police vetting and the administrative hurdles within the Public Service Commission.

Mrs Glover-Rolle said files submitted for vetting are often incomplete or fall short of required standards, which stalls the process. She said police officials involved in the vetting have been urged to fast-track the checks, but procedural requirements still need to be met.

She added that the process for bringing in contracted foreign nurses is different from regularising locals, noting that reforms are underway to streamline outdated public service laws. She described the current framework as a holdover from when the civil service was much smaller, suggesting that reducing steps in the approval process could help speed things up.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe also weighed in, saying ministries are responsible for following up on vetting requests. He said gaps sometimes occur because no vetting request was submitted or completed files were not properly tracked after being returned by police. In either case, he said, diligent follow-up is critical to avoid delays.