By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister last night denied that completion of the civil service salary review was delayed by funding constraints as he instead blamed the scale and complexity of the task.

Philip Davis KC, giving a televised national address in response to union threats of a national strike over the forthcoming increases for junior workers, reiterated that all outstanding payments will be made before Christmas and clarified that the delays were not due to a lack of available funds.

“The delay was not a cash flow problem. It was an administrative process making sure the new salary adjustments for more than 15,000 public officers were accurate, fair and then right the first time. I’m satisfied we have resolved the issues,” he added.

“I want to reassure every public servant that you will be paid before Christmas. The union leaders have to do their jobs, represent their members, but I have to do mine to represent all Bahamians.” Mr Davis also stressed that the salary review process was a government-led initiative, not one driven by union pressure.

“I knew we could do more for the men and women who serve this country every day. That’s why I initiated the national salary review; not the unions, not anyone else. I did it because I believe Bahamian workers deserved more. That is how we got to this moment. That’s the record that brought us to this moment,” he said.

Mr Davis said public servants have received consistent salary increases since 2021, with entry-level workers enjoying the greatest increases as his administration concludes what he described as the most comprehensive salary review of the public service in decades.

He added that the review was undertaken to correct “many years of neglect” and ensure government employees are compensated fairly. The evaluation examined wages across various categories of public workers and considered the impact of inflation and internal pay disparities.

“The national salary review is complete, and tonight it will be made public. While the review did not include every category of public servant, the same methodology will be applied to ensure increases are extended across the wider public service,” said Mr Davis.

“It’s the most comprehensive review of public service pay in decades. It examines every grade, every scale, every allowance and every increment. It looks at the impact of inflation, at fairness between professions and at how we can modernise pay across the public service.

“The findings show that since coming to office in 2021, public officers have received salary increases every year, and that entry level workers, the ones earning the least, have benefited the most with the consistency and regularity of their reassessments, salary adjustments and increments, ensuring that these officers received their due in a structured, timely way after many years of neglect.”

Mr Davis’s address came amid rising tensions with the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT), who have voiced growing frustration over delayed salary adjustments and pay disparities between senior administrators and lower-tier staff, including janitors and clerical workers.

Union leaders have called for the increases to be made retroactive to September 2024, and are demanding these funds be disbursed during the upcoming October pay period. Belinda Wilson, the BUT president, has renewed calls for nationwide protest action today.

In a statement, she called on teachers and other public workers to assemble at Parliament and in Grand Bahama, while urging Family Island workers to remain home in solidarity. “In Nassau, all roads lead to Bay Street, Rawson Square, the people’s square,” Mrs Wilson said. 

“We will assemble at City Markets parking lot at 9am. In Grand Bahama, all public servants, including teachers, will assemble in Freeport at the Office of the Prime Minister at 9am. Family Islands from Abaco to Inagua, we did not forget you. Stay at home as you stand in solidarity with the thousands of public servants throughout The Bahamas,” said Mrs Wilson

During his 2025-2026 Budget communication, Mr Davis announced that middle management public servants would receive salary increases at the end of June, with broader increases of 2 to 8 percent for the rest of the public service originally scheduled for September, along with expanded health insurance coverage for all government employees.

However, the Government later announced that public servants who missed earlier salary adjustments would instead receive them in December. The increases will be retroactive to September 2025, and each employee is expected to receive at least two salary increments, although the exact amounts will vary depending on their job classification.

Last week, members of the BPSU and BUT marched to Parliament, demanding clarity on the delayed raises and accusing the Government of failing to follow through on previous commitments.

Union leaders met with Mr Davis on National Heroes Day, with talks expected to continue the following day. However, the Prime Minister cancelled the meeting following Mrs Wilson’s public call for industrial action across the country if the Government did not meet their demands.