The method of payment Minister of Labour Shane Gibson is proposing to satisfy customs officers who signed letters asking to be paid outside of their union's bargaining unit, could have dire consequences for their careers, claimed Bahamas Customs Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU) President Sloane Smith this week.
Gibson said in the House of Assembly this week, that customs officers who applied to receive funds agreed upon by BCIAWU, will be paid by voucher at the end of the month.
"There after, they will be paid monthly on the payroll," Gibson said.
After receiving a petition signed by over 100 customs officers last week requesting payments, Gibson said that payments were ready, a move BCIAWU President Sloane Smith said was political.
Smith told The Nassau Guardian that customs officers were not fully informed by Gibson on what signing the petition would mean for them.
"As far as what he would have said publicly, some officers signed, but what he didn't tell them is, in order to pay them on their salaries, he would have to give them a salary unto themselves, which means taking them outside of the salary scale, and once he pays them, they will be locked into a situation where they cannot get increments," he said.
"Had he simply paid the entire bargaining unit in accordance to what we agreed, this would not be an issue," he said.
Smith added: "He is also inviting us back to the table, because all those people who signed would be placed outside of the scale and they themselves could not get increments or anything until they create something different for them.
"That is when you plot and you play games with people's lives, he should at least have the decency to explain all of that to them.
"While he thinks it's fun to play games and to get an edge, this union is not interested in the games he's playing.
"People have real life concerns, and now that you've backed these people into a corner with these signatures, people are calling and saying they want to withdraw their letter."
Smith said he does not believe Gibson cares about the workers and their families, who would be the ones "to suffer from the situation at hand".
He added: "We will go to the table, we will take the same document we agreed with them in 2014, that they signed off on, 2016 the financial agreement that he inferred that he's going to pay them according to, which I don't believe, because if he doesn't put that in writing, it does not mean anything to me."
Smith said that he will do all that it takes to look out for the interests of customs and immigration officers.
He said long after Gibson is gone, the union would continue to stand for the people.
He said the union has no interest in the issues of politics and Gibson should do "as we have told him before, stay out of our business".
Acting Treasurer Winifred Linden said, "All the minister needs to do is pay the money.
"Stop using the media houses to get brownie points for the PLP to get some votes
"Just pay the money.
"He is not doing anyone a favor, because this is money owed to the officers".
Gibson previously said, that out of the 559 uniformed customs officers, 517 applied to be paid; and out of the approximate 300 immigration officers, approximately 87 of those applied to be paid.
"He don't need to be quoting stats, and he don't need to be quoting figures, I don't care if it was a hundred percent who signed," Linden said.
"The fact of the matter is, you put these people in a position where they're in need, and then you come around here acting as though you're doing them a favor because you're paying them their money."
Linden insists that the letters be retracted, and that Gibson set a time and date to determine a course of action.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian