By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net 

A SALARY review commissioned by the government found that hundreds of middle managers and technical officers across the public service are earning far less than what’s needed to keep up with rising prices, with the report warning of “wealth destruction” as inflation and living costs eat away at their income.

The May 2025 Salary Review for Middle Management and Technical Officers, prepared by consulting firm DCB Holding Ltd for the Ministry of Finance, covered 85 priority roles across the public sector. The analysis looked at senior administrators, members of the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces, customs and immigration officers, correctional officers, and finance, audit, statistical, executive, and administrative personnel.

The study did not include teachers, nurses, doctors, or most frontline and support workers, focusing instead on those within the Ministry of Finance’s defined “management and technical” classifications. Even within law enforcement agencies, the study focused on senior roles like police inspectors and above and chief inspection officers and above. The omissions and focus on senior roles are at the heart of the recent industrial strife led by Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has said the methodology underlying the report will be applied to ensure increases throughout the wider public service, though he was not clear when those will take effect. 

According to the report, the government’s internal pay system is consistent but outdated, failing to reflect economic reality. It found that public officers’ real earnings have fallen between 5 and 16 percent over the past few years, as salary increases have not matched the growth in inflation, consumer prices, or private sector wages. The consultants said this loss of purchasing power has left many government employees struggling to maintain their standard of living, calling the situation “wealth destruction.”

The study broke down the impact by function. Top management staff were found to have lost up to 15 percent of their real earnings. Police and Defence Force officers lost between 5 and 14 percent, while customs, immigration, and correctional officers recorded drops of up to 16 percent.

Administrative, finance, and audit officers experienced similar declines.

In each case, salaries were compared to what employees should have been earning if pay had kept pace with inflation, market standards, and the Consumer Price Index. 

The report also found that even though most employees appeared to be within their official salary ranges, a closer look revealed serious imbalances. Nearly one in three police officers were being paid below the minimum level for their rank. Among executive personnel — mostly administrative cadets — 22 percent were also below the minimum threshold. By contrast, uniformed personnel in customs, immigration, and the Defence Force were largely within range.

Analysts described the government’s pay structure as compressed, meaning there is little difference between ranks and grades. In some areas, the report found “negative progression,” where moving up in title brought almost no pay increase. For most levels, the spread between the 10th and 90th percentile salaries was under 20 percent, which the authors said was “significantly lower than expected” and evidence of weak financial progression within the service.

When the consultants compared government salaries to the wider labour market, almost all categories, including senior managers and uniformed officers, were found to fall below the 10th percentile of market pay, placing the public sector far behind the private sector and regional peers.

The review also examined how middle-ranking public officers compare to their senior leaders. It found that officers in key positions such as under secretaries, budget directors, and deputy commissioners of police now earn 20 to 30 percent less than the amount needed to maintain the same proportional relationship to their top supervisors as they had in 2023. While top posts like the Financial Secretary, Commodore, and Police Commissioner have seen stronger growth, middle managers have lagged behind.

The consultants said the combined effect of static increments and inflation has left employees trapped in an income squeeze. They illustrated the problem with a simple example: in 2020, an employee earning $100 could buy 100 cans of tuna; by 2024, the same items cost $130, but that employee’s pay only rose to $108, meaning they could now afford just 83 cans.

The consultants recommended linking future pay reviews to key economic indicators such as GDP growth, inflation, and the Consumer Price Index, saying this would help restore balance and protect workers’ purchasing power.