By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday pulled out of today’s scheduled meeting with union leaders, saying he will not engage further while threats of a national strike hang over the talks.

The Bahamas Union of Teachers and Bahamas Public Service Unions had expected to resume talks with the Prime Minister at 1pm today to finalise details of the government’s salary review exercise. But late yesterday, Mr Davis said he would no longer meet, citing BUT President Belinda Wilson’s public call for workers across the country to take industrial action if their demands are not met.

Mr Davis said he would instead address “the Bahamian people and the workers of this nation, the men and women whose effort, care, and service form the backbone of our country.”

He said the government’s national salary review is aimed at making compensation fairer across the public service and promised that every public servant “will be paid before Christmas.” He said the report will be made public and that the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury are on track to deliver payments within that timeframe.

His withdrawal followed union meetings earlier in the day on National Heroes Day. Mrs Wilson and BPSU President Kimsley Ferguson had met with him to discuss the review, which currently covers middle managers and above.

In a voicenote to members, Ms Wilson said the same formula used to calculate pay for middle managers would also determine raises for all public servants, including teachers. She said the unions are demanding that retroactive payments be applied from September 2024 and paid out by the October 2025 payday.

She warned members to be ready for action if the talks do not yield results. “We will assemble at City Market parking lot on Market Street on Wednesday morning, October the 15th, 2025, at 9am,” she said. “Also, we’ll be asking all public servants in Grand Bahama to assemble in front of the Office of the Prime Minister in Freeport, and all Family Island members to remain at home from Abaco to Inagua.”

The unions’ threat comes just days after more than a hundred public servants marched through downtown Nassau chanting “we want our money right now” over delayed or omitted salary increases. Protesters pressed against police barricades outside Parliament before Mr Davis emerged to assure them that payments would come before Christmas.

The dispute stems from anger over pay disparities between senior administrators, such as permanent secretaries, and lower-level staff including janitors and clerks. Workers have also complained of unresolved promotions, transfers, reclassifications, unpaid overtime, and hazard pay.

Officials have said that employees excluded from earlier adjustments will receive at least two increments in December, retroactive to September 1, 2025, depending on their category. The government allocated $10m for the review, which began in June with middle management and is now moving to cover the rest of the service.

Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle has said her ministry has made “significant progress” on long-standing issues and that payment logistics are being handled by the Ministry of Finance. She pointed out that there had been no across-the-board pay increases between 2016 and the Davis administration’s reforms.

Union leaders remain sceptical. Ms Wilson has demanded Cabinet conclusions, salary lists, and detailed timelines for payments. Mr Ferguson has argued that aviation staff have not received raises since 2019 and accused officials of shifting the goalposts on unresolved matters.