By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Public Services Union's (BPSU) president last night accused the Government of "trying to use the public purse" to win the upcoming general election via the latest civil service pay rises.

Kimsley Ferguson, whose union represents thousands of public sector workers, voiced misgivings to Tribune Business about how the public service salary review was handled as he complained about the failure to consult and involve both the BPSU and other trade unions whose members are impacted.

Disclosing that his members are asking questions that himself and other BPSU executives are unable to answer, due to their exclusion from the process, he also expressed concern about how the salary increases are being implemented - especially the "retroactivity" for lower-ranking civil servants.

The Government, in announcing the completion of the public sector salary review, said workers who had nor participated in previous increases - line-staff level employees - would receive a minimum of two salary increments in their December pay period made retroactive to September 1, 2025.

However, Mr Ferguson told this newspaper that many of these workers had already spent this money, or borrowed against it for expenses such as their children's 'back-to-school' needs, in anticipation that it would be received this month - not be delayed for three months until December, albeit made retroactive. He added that persons in this situation now "find themselves in a hole'.

Besides the retroactive payments, the BPSU chief also questioned the "equality" of the increases and their timing as he pointed to gaps between what permanent secretaries and senior civil servants have received; the awards to so-called "middle management" civil servants; and now line staff workers. Support staff, whose incremental value is $37.50, would be in line to receive a $75 per month rise with two increments.

The Davis administration, though, defended its actions by asserting that it had delivered the first "comprehensive salary review", and accompanying public service-wide pay rises, in 14 years while accusing its successors of neglecting of shying away from the issue.

Pointing out that civil servants have enjoyed annual "incremental salary increases" since 2022, in a bid to ease cost of living pressures, it added that the salary review's "complex" nature meant it took longer to complete than anticipated. As a result, the salary increases for junior services will only appear in December 2025, but the Government asserted that "no one loses a dollar" due to the retroactivity.

But, despite the financial benefits for his members through increased take-home pay, Mr Ferguson said the Government had "not been forthcoming" when the BPSU and other public sector unions pressed for details on the salary review. And he voiced suspicions that the timing of the increase is linked to the upcoming general election which must be held by September 2026.

"We were not involved at all," the BPSU president said of the salary review. "That was our issue initially because, whether or not it's positively impacting our members, we should be part of the effort. We're very, very disappointed and it comes across to us that the Government is trying to cause our members to view unions as irrelevant."

Mr Ferguson said he and other BPSU executives met with Prime Minister Phillip Davis KC two to three weeks ago to discuss the salary review. He added that they requested copies of the review, and any supporting studies and documents, and asserted that Mr Davis said Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, who was also present for the meeting, would ensure they were provided.

However, Mr Ferguson alleged that Mr Halkitis and Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance's financial secretary, were "not forthcoming with any information" when himself and Belinda Wilson, the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president, and their respective executives met with them following the encounter with Mr Davis.

Due to the lack of information provided, Mr Ferguson said the BPSU is now "receiving concerns and calls from members of the bargaining unit and we cannot tell them anything because we don't know. That's a poor position for the union to be in".

"Regardless that the Government made the decision to do it, there should have been more dialogue, more consultation," he added. "There wouldn't have been this catastrophe. There are persons who are middle managers who have said they have not received anything. It has not been well thought-out.

"In our view, every time you try and leave unions out you're going to have a problem. In my view, it appears that the Government is trying to use the public purse to retain another five-year term and it's doing a miserable job of it."

The Government's 2025-2026 Budget forecasts show that civil service wages and salaries, excluding allowances, social contributions (National Insurance Board payments), and travel and subsistence, are projected to rise by 25 percent or $183.773m over the five-year period between the 2023-2024 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. The jump is from $735.96m in 2023-2024 to $919.734m in 2027-2028.

A large part of this increase is almost certainly as a result of the latest public sector pay rises. The Government is justifying them on the basis of closing the gap with private sector salary rates, thus ensuring it stands a better chance of retaining its best and brightest workers, and ensuring improved morale and productivity among staff who serve the Bahamian public.

Over the five years detailed in the 2025-2026 Budget, for the most part civil service wages and salaries increase by between $32m and close to $40m on a year-over-year or annual basis. The biggest leap, though, comes between 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, when the civil service payroll is forecast to jump by more than $74m.

One financial source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said these numbers - combined with the Government's decision to delay the increase for junior civil services to December, while making them retroactive - appeared to be an attempt to delay the full impact of the wage hikes until 2026-2027 and after the upcoming general election.

The latest round of pay increases will only take effect at the year's half-way mark, and the source said: "The Government is baking in a lot of expenditure. It's adding in a lot of expenditure that it's going to have difficulty sustaining if the economy goes south. Without any public sector reform and any game plan to reduce expenditure and improve efficiency, we're going to have to pay the piper."

The Davis administration, though, said the latest round of pay rises means Bahamian civil servants will have received base pay increases of between 8 percent to 31 percent over the last four years "with the largest percentage increases going to entry-level employees".

It added: “This exercise covers all classes of officers directly employed by the public service on a non-contractual basis. Its purpose is to close the wage gap between the public service and the wider private sector, and ensure fairness for Bahamian workers. For example, this increase will narrow the gap between non-contractual employees and those who already received increases as a result of trade union negotiations."

In a subsequent note to further explain its actions, the Davis administration said: "This is the first comprehensive salary review of the public service since 2009 to 2010. For nearly a decade-and-a-half, successive administrations failed to take on this necessary exercise. Prime Minister Davis committed to it, initiated it and has delivered....

"Public servants are understandably eager to see the increases reflected in their pay checks right away. The reality is that this Prime Minister is delivering what no one else has in 14 years: A comprehensive salary review, consistent annual increases since 2022, and retroactive payments that guarantee fairness for all."

Asserting that public servants have received incremental salary increases in every year since 2022 to help ease cost of living pressures, the Government explained why the there has been a phased implementation.  "In the 2024-2025 Budget communication, the Prime Minister announced the salary review for senior public officers.

"Because the exercise was complex, it took longer than anticipated to conclude. When completed, it was applied retroactively to the effective date. That meant senior officers received their increases a year later, but with full back pay...

"The same principle applies to junior employees today. Their salary review has been concluded, and while the payment will appear in December, it is fully retroactive to September 1, 2025. No one loses a dollar. The timing reflects the administrative completion of the review process," the Government added.

"The difference is clear. Previous governments avoided or delayed this level of review for 14 years. Prime Minister Davis has not only undertaken it, but also ensured that every category of public servant, both senior and junior, receives a raise with retroactive benefits built in."

Mr Ferguson, though, challenged the way the pay rises for junior civil servants have been implemented. He queried both the "retroactive" element, the decision to leave junior officers to last, and the fact some civil servants could be in temporary financial difficulties having anticipated the increases would have come through in September.

"I am concerned in relation to the retroactivity," the BPSU president said. "The previous persons, the permanent secretaries, received just humungous amounts of money retroactive from 2022. The increase they got totalled some $40,000. Then they increased the middle managers according to them, and there was a gap between them and the permanent secretaries to the tune of $30,700.

"They got a little something and it was made retroactive to 2024. Now it's for persons at the lower end to receive something, and they want to make it retroactive to September 2025. I don't think so. We're looking for equality now. It sends a very clear message to those persons at the lower end that they are not valued or appreciated.

"Persons at the lower end - messengers, support staff, security - it was supposed to be between 2 percent to 8 percent. We've been trying to understand who's getting what definitively. There was huge speculation about the dollar amount, huge speculation until yesterday. Two increments? Come on man." Two increments for support staff, for instance, would be the equivalent of a $75 monthly rise.

"A lot of persons will have spent that money. Some people will have borrowed money, and now they have to wait," Mr Ferguson added. "Initially, we would have called for persons at the lower end to receive their funds first to assist them with preparing their children for 'back-to-school'. Now persons find themselves in a hole having borrowed money believing they would be able to pay it back. There you have it."

Mr Ferguson was yesterday backed by the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU) which, while backing any effort to close "wage disparities" within the public sector, said it had "serious concerns with both the content and clarity" of the Government's pronouncements.

It added that they "directly contradict" the Prime Minister's previous "assurances" that salary changes would reflect the responsibilities of each worker category in the public service. And the BEMU said there was no explanation as to how remuneration was to be calculated for its members when they have more responsibilities than the "middle managers" who received an eight increment increase retroactive to September 2024.