Prime Minister Phillip Davis has vowed to pay public servants outstanding monies before Christmas, as they protested outside the Parliament.
The workers represented by the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) chanted ‘pay us our money’ .
Prime Minister Philip Davis (center) is flanked by workers as he addressed them outside the Parliament building following a protest march
BPSU President Kimsley Ferguson and BUT President Belinda Wilson said their members have a myriad of concerns, including questions about promised salary increases.
Ferguson called on the prime minister to ‘do his job.’
The unions have accused the government of excluding key worker groups and failing to consult unions before announcing the pay increases. There are also unresolved concerns over the delay in government wage increases
‘First of all, the decision to give y’all some money came from me, from my heart. I understood that y’all need that. It was nothing negotiated, I’m trying to help all of you, y’all will be paid and the payment will be before Christmas. You will be paid before Christmas,’ Prime Minister Davis told the disgruntled workers out the Parliament building.
Media reports Wednesday said that public servants who missed earlier pay raises would now receive them in December and not in September as had been previously planned.
The government had said that the increases would be retroactive to September, with each employee receiving at least two salary increments, though the size of the increases will vary by category.
The government had previously announced salary adjustments in June and recently completed a salary review, with more increases and retroactive pay to September 2025 being reflected in the December pay period for public officers not included in earlier phases.
The government announced then that public officers across the service can expect a two to eight per cent increases in salaries starting September 2025.
But union leaders have expressed concern over a lack of transparency regarding the application and calculation of these increases.