PLP should be prepared for September 8
tribune242 editorial
SEPTEMBER 8th is D-Day for Baha Mar when parliamentarians will debate and vote on whether to approve 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour to build the $2.6 billion Cable Beach resort complex. The investment is backed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. The resort will be constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the request for the permits comes from the People's Republic of China.
Legislators are caught on a cleft stick with this one -- a case of be damned if you do, or damned if you don't.
Bahamians have always been against foreign labour to the point that even the unskilled believe that as long as they are Bahamians - regardless of their lack of ability - they should get all jobs. However, today the economic situation is different. The construction business is down, Bahamians are desperate for work.
The question is are they desperate enough to suppress their grumbles and agree to these permits in order to stimulate the economy and find employment for themselves, or are they going to dig their heels in and say: "No."
According to Baha Mar if this project goes ahead it will create 3,300 temporary jobs for Bahamians during construction and 7,000 permanent jobs on completion.
We have always understood that wherever in the world Chinese investors build, they do it with their own labour. Looking at it from the Chinese point of view, their country also has to provide employment for their own people. It is their money which they invest in their citizens to create a project in a foreign land. On completion that project will then benefit the country in which it is located.
Mr Christie believes that the Chinese government -- with better negotiating skills on the part of Mr Ingraham -- could have been talked out of such an unusual request. Little does Mr Christie know. When these permits were first talked of the figures being tossed about were between 5,000 and 6,000 workers. If this is so to get the Chinese -- who we understand are adamant about their Chinese labour policy -- to drop down to 4,920 is a miracle in itself. However, if these permits are eventually agreed, with the exception of a handful of their top executives, everyone of them must return to China on the completion of the contract. This should be non-negotiable.
Mr Christie is agitated because - after many complaints of not being consulted by the Ingraham government -- he is now being asked to join that government in deciding whether these permits should be granted. For once he would rather Mr Ingraham let that bitter cup pass from him. He believes it is a cabinet decision, not his. However, what he must never forget is that if he had been more decisive in dealing with the Baha Mar development before he lost the government in 2007, there would have been no need for this debate. So not only is it incumbent upon Mr Christie and his colleagues to step up to the plate and vote on behalf of their constituents, but the PLP should recognise that what is being requested is unprecedented in Bahamian history. Therefore, voices from all segments of this country must be represented, and the only way to hear from the people is through their "representers."
We hope that Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell is not going to waste the time of the House by blaming Prime Minister Ingraham for losing the Harrah's Entertainment deal because of a statement he made in the House.
He must remember that the new owners of Harrah's -- as disclosed in a case before the Supreme Court of New York -- had decided to abandon the Baha Mar-Harrah's agreement before Mr Ingraham even spoke in the House.
Mr Mitchell must also be reminded of the January 25, 2006 letter of Sarkis Izmilian, CEO of Baha Mar, to Mr Christie, in which he stated that despite his (Izmilian's) "best efforts these past three odd years the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (the Christie government) has failed me." Mr Izmilian added that he was at that time considering whether "investing billions of dollars in this country is the right decision."
It must also be remembered that the Christie government was still negotiating with Baha Mar up to two days before the 2007 election, which the PLP lost. Mr Mitchell must also recall that, because of the many rumours spinning around at the time, there was no way that the Ingraham government could sign the Christie government's unfinished agreement without much investigation. He must especially remember the "secret" agreements in the contract about the land deals that the Christie government knew would explode in its face if it came to the floor of the House and the knowledge of the Bahamian people. Therefore, a scheme was devised so that the controversial land transfers would not have to be approved by the House -- certainly not before the 2007 election.
"The country is desperately in need of relief in respect to this dire unemployment situation," Mr Christie told the press after a party meeting over the weekend to decide the position they would take in the September 8th debate. "The question for us is examining in detail what the implications are, the impact on Bahamian labour, and the length of time of the work permits."
This is the issue. When September 8th comes we hope that both sides stay focused. Regardless of whether the Christie Opposition tries to muddy the waters with red herrings, sits mute, or stays away, the position they take will be judged on that momentous day.
August 24, 2010
tribune242 editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Obie Wilchcombe: ...the amount of foreign labour needed for the Baha Mar project is "politically toxic"
The PLP 'still want Baha Mar vote to be carried by govt'
tribune242
THE Progressive Liberal Party has reportedly voted in favour of continuing to allow the government to carry the burden of whether or not the Baha Mar labour resolution is passed in the House of Assembly when it is brought before Parliament next month.
According to party sources who spoke to The Tribune yesterday, the PLP met and discussed the matter on Sunday night, and have stuck to their initial position that this vote will have to be carried by the current "FNM government."
On Sunday, PLP leader Perry Christie said the party will of course be directly influenced by the "complete urgency" to do something for the economy of the Bahamas.
"It is an increasing serious state of affairs that exists here. The country is desperately in need of relief in respect to this dire unemployment situation. The question for us in examining in detail the implications of whatever the number of work permits are, the impact on Bahamian labour, and the length of time of the work permits," he said.
Having financially backed the $2.6 billion investment, the People's Republic of China is also requesting some 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour for the construction of the project. These work permits will come before Parliament in the resolution on September 8 to be voted on.
Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Assembly, Obie Wilchcombe, has already described the amount of foreign labour needed for the project as "politically toxic" - adding that the government is requiring Parliament to vote on the matter to avoid taking the brunt of what is expected to be massive public criticism in the near future.
August 24, 2010
tribune242
tribune242
THE Progressive Liberal Party has reportedly voted in favour of continuing to allow the government to carry the burden of whether or not the Baha Mar labour resolution is passed in the House of Assembly when it is brought before Parliament next month.
According to party sources who spoke to The Tribune yesterday, the PLP met and discussed the matter on Sunday night, and have stuck to their initial position that this vote will have to be carried by the current "FNM government."
On Sunday, PLP leader Perry Christie said the party will of course be directly influenced by the "complete urgency" to do something for the economy of the Bahamas.
"It is an increasing serious state of affairs that exists here. The country is desperately in need of relief in respect to this dire unemployment situation. The question for us in examining in detail the implications of whatever the number of work permits are, the impact on Bahamian labour, and the length of time of the work permits," he said.
Having financially backed the $2.6 billion investment, the People's Republic of China is also requesting some 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour for the construction of the project. These work permits will come before Parliament in the resolution on September 8 to be voted on.
Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Assembly, Obie Wilchcombe, has already described the amount of foreign labour needed for the project as "politically toxic" - adding that the government is requiring Parliament to vote on the matter to avoid taking the brunt of what is expected to be massive public criticism in the near future.
August 24, 2010
tribune242
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Bishop Simeon Hall: The Bahamian people, by and large, have bought into the lie that only lawyers are best suited to sit in Parliament
Bishop Simeon Hall speaks out against electing lawyers to Parliament
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
tthompson@tribunemedia.net:
BAHAMIAN voters should throw their support behind "ordinary" members of society instead of continuously electing lawyers to the halls of Parliament, said Bishop Simeon Hall.
The senior pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church reasoned that lawyers - many of whom profit from the "present culture of criminality" - cannot be expected to solve the crime problem or change the systems in place which have led to this "national nightmare."
He added that men and women who have proven themselves successful in community building and business would make better political candidates. While several lawyers are the architects of the nation's foundation, and have an indispensable role in nation building, Parliament needs more contractors, successful entrepreneurs, farmers and community builders to take the Bahamas to the "promised land," said the religious leader.
"It is time for the country's electorate to help in reducing the number of lawyers we have in our Parliament and allow more persons from the ordinary walks of our society to participate in our national debate," said Mr Hall in a statement released yesterday.
"There exists an urgent and immediate need for ordinary persons to represent the common masses. It cannot be expected that this national nightmare of crime will be (remedied) by the wisdom of one group. While lawyers, in the main, do not cause crime, they are the major beneficiaries of the present culture of criminality and this cannot be expected to do what is needed to change things."
"The Bahamian people, by and large, have bought into the lie that only lawyers are best suited to sit in Parliament," said Mr Hall as he called all political parties to choose ordinary persons with a reputation of community leadership for their election tickets.
The country needs fresh ideas and new perspectives in the national dialogue, he added, "if we are to change the status quo which sees ordinary persons on the edge of desperation".
August 23, 2010
tribune242
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
tthompson@tribunemedia.net:
BAHAMIAN voters should throw their support behind "ordinary" members of society instead of continuously electing lawyers to the halls of Parliament, said Bishop Simeon Hall.
The senior pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church reasoned that lawyers - many of whom profit from the "present culture of criminality" - cannot be expected to solve the crime problem or change the systems in place which have led to this "national nightmare."
He added that men and women who have proven themselves successful in community building and business would make better political candidates. While several lawyers are the architects of the nation's foundation, and have an indispensable role in nation building, Parliament needs more contractors, successful entrepreneurs, farmers and community builders to take the Bahamas to the "promised land," said the religious leader.
"It is time for the country's electorate to help in reducing the number of lawyers we have in our Parliament and allow more persons from the ordinary walks of our society to participate in our national debate," said Mr Hall in a statement released yesterday.
"There exists an urgent and immediate need for ordinary persons to represent the common masses. It cannot be expected that this national nightmare of crime will be (remedied) by the wisdom of one group. While lawyers, in the main, do not cause crime, they are the major beneficiaries of the present culture of criminality and this cannot be expected to do what is needed to change things."
"The Bahamian people, by and large, have bought into the lie that only lawyers are best suited to sit in Parliament," said Mr Hall as he called all political parties to choose ordinary persons with a reputation of community leadership for their election tickets.
The country needs fresh ideas and new perspectives in the national dialogue, he added, "if we are to change the status quo which sees ordinary persons on the edge of desperation".
August 23, 2010
tribune242
Jerome Gomez and Dr Daniel Johnson confirmed as Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidates for the next general election
PLP confirm Killarney, Carmichael candidates
tribune242
THE PLP has confirmed that the party will run financial services consultant Jerome Gomez in Killarney and Dr Daniel Johnson in Carmichael in the next general election.
According to a PLP release, Mr Gomez, a financial services consultant and former member of several Government boards, was ratified by the PLP's National General Council on Thursday evening as the Killarney candidate.
Meanwhile, Dr Daniel Johnson, a podiatrist, son-in-law of the late Sir Lynden Pindling and son of former MP for Cat Island Oscar Johnson, will run under the party's banner in Carmichael.
Presently, the Killarney seat is held by Dr Hubert Minnis, also Minister of Health, and Carmichael is represented by Desmond Bannister, Minister of Education.
Mr Gomez, 46, is the principal of the chartered accounting firm Baker Tilly Gomez and has previously worked at Shell Bahamas Limited and Barclays Bank in various positions.
He is the managing director of Gomez Corporate Management Ltd., a licensed financial and corporate service provider, and Gestfinanz (Bahamas Ltd.), a Bahamian licensed securities investment advisor.
As a Fund Administrator for the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, the government sponsored venture capital fund, the party noted that Mr Gomez has "had the privilege of providing hundreds of entrepreneurs with business consulting services."
Mr Gomez served for a period as chairman of the Hospitals and Health Care Facilities Licensing Board, deputy chairman of the Town Planning Committee and a member of the Real Estate Disciplinary Committee.
He is a graduate of St. Augustine's College and holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from Barry University, Miami, Florida. He is married to Jean Gomez (nee Shannon) and is the father of five children.
The party did not release any further information about Dr Johnson.
August 23, 2010
tribune242
tribune242
THE PLP has confirmed that the party will run financial services consultant Jerome Gomez in Killarney and Dr Daniel Johnson in Carmichael in the next general election.
According to a PLP release, Mr Gomez, a financial services consultant and former member of several Government boards, was ratified by the PLP's National General Council on Thursday evening as the Killarney candidate.
Meanwhile, Dr Daniel Johnson, a podiatrist, son-in-law of the late Sir Lynden Pindling and son of former MP for Cat Island Oscar Johnson, will run under the party's banner in Carmichael.
Presently, the Killarney seat is held by Dr Hubert Minnis, also Minister of Health, and Carmichael is represented by Desmond Bannister, Minister of Education.
Mr Gomez, 46, is the principal of the chartered accounting firm Baker Tilly Gomez and has previously worked at Shell Bahamas Limited and Barclays Bank in various positions.
He is the managing director of Gomez Corporate Management Ltd., a licensed financial and corporate service provider, and Gestfinanz (Bahamas Ltd.), a Bahamian licensed securities investment advisor.
As a Fund Administrator for the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, the government sponsored venture capital fund, the party noted that Mr Gomez has "had the privilege of providing hundreds of entrepreneurs with business consulting services."
Mr Gomez served for a period as chairman of the Hospitals and Health Care Facilities Licensing Board, deputy chairman of the Town Planning Committee and a member of the Real Estate Disciplinary Committee.
He is a graduate of St. Augustine's College and holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from Barry University, Miami, Florida. He is married to Jean Gomez (nee Shannon) and is the father of five children.
The party did not release any further information about Dr Johnson.
August 23, 2010
tribune242
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) change of heart on the Baha Mar deal and work permits for as many as 8,000 Chinese workers
PLP MAY CHANGE STANCE ON BAHA MAR
By KRYSTEL ROLLE
Guardian Staff Reporter
krystel@nasguard.com:
The Progressive Liberal Party(PLP)may have had a change of heart as it relates to its stance on the controversial foreign work component issue surrounding the Baha Mar deal - which could result in as many as 8,000 Chinese workers being granted work permits.
Yesterday PLP Leader Perry Christie said despite indicating in June that the party would not involve itself in the decision to allow thousands of Chinese workers to receive work permits, he would do what is best for the country.
"We have since met with the principle shareholder of Baha Mar and we were briefed by the top executives of the company, Christie said. "We are meeting this afternoon to consider our position on the matter in anticipation of going back to Parliament.
"The Progressive Liberal Party is absolutely aware of the state of our economy--the deteriorated state of our economy and the urgency for there to be some kind of development.
"In that regard we are going to take a position based on the needs of the country. And we're not going to be tied to anything that I may have said in the past in regards to the work permits. We want to be able to provide a very concerted view on the matter. We(the PLP)begin meeting on the matter at our parliamentary meeting today(yesterday).
In June, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the approval of the "extraordinary" number of Chinese workers required to help construct the resort development would not be given without opposition support.
But at that time, Christie said the prime minister is "on his very own" as it regards deciding on the Baha Mar labor issue.
He said the PLP had not been given sufficient information on the deal and therefore would not involve itself. When speaking with The Nassau Guardian yesterday, Christie said he still has not spoken to the prime minister yet.
"I know representatives have met with the Chinese ambassador, and I don't know if the prime misinter has some special information to provide me with, but I anticipate that if he has new information that would be provided to me prior to our going to Parliament. I have not heard from him yet."
Ingraham met with Chinese Ambassador Hu Dingxian at the Office of the Prime Minister in Cable Beach on Thursday, to discuss the Baha Mar project.
Last week The Guardian also spoke to Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly Tommy Turnquest, who confirmed that the Ingraham administration intends to bring the labor resolution to Parliament on September 8.
The Guardian understands that since the announcement from the Cabinet Office late last month that the government of the People's Republic of China had approved the Baha Mar deal, Baha Mar officials have been meeting with officials from the prime minister's office to answer questions about the project.
Turnquest said the MPs would be allowed to express their views on the labor issue before the government makes a final determination.
If a majority of MPs take issue with that component, he said the government would have to take that into consideration prior to making its decision.
Turnquest said publicly that at the height of construction Baha Mar could have up to 8,000 foreign workers on the project.
Baha Mar has said that out of the 10,000 proposed construction jobs the project will create, at least 3,300 will be set aside for Bahamians. Eight thousand permanent jobs are also projected once the resort is completed.
The proposed Cable Beach development would be financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and constructed by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
If the project receives Bahamas government approval, Baha Mar's first course of action would be to award nearly $60 million of construction contracts to six Bahamian contractors, representing early infrastructure works needed to prepare the site, Baha Mar's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sarkis Izmirlian said in a press statement last month.
8/22/2010
thenassauguardian
By KRYSTEL ROLLE
Guardian Staff Reporter
krystel@nasguard.com:
The Progressive Liberal Party(PLP)may have had a change of heart as it relates to its stance on the controversial foreign work component issue surrounding the Baha Mar deal - which could result in as many as 8,000 Chinese workers being granted work permits.
Yesterday PLP Leader Perry Christie said despite indicating in June that the party would not involve itself in the decision to allow thousands of Chinese workers to receive work permits, he would do what is best for the country.
"We have since met with the principle shareholder of Baha Mar and we were briefed by the top executives of the company, Christie said. "We are meeting this afternoon to consider our position on the matter in anticipation of going back to Parliament.
"The Progressive Liberal Party is absolutely aware of the state of our economy--the deteriorated state of our economy and the urgency for there to be some kind of development.
"In that regard we are going to take a position based on the needs of the country. And we're not going to be tied to anything that I may have said in the past in regards to the work permits. We want to be able to provide a very concerted view on the matter. We(the PLP)begin meeting on the matter at our parliamentary meeting today(yesterday).
In June, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the approval of the "extraordinary" number of Chinese workers required to help construct the resort development would not be given without opposition support.
But at that time, Christie said the prime minister is "on his very own" as it regards deciding on the Baha Mar labor issue.
He said the PLP had not been given sufficient information on the deal and therefore would not involve itself. When speaking with The Nassau Guardian yesterday, Christie said he still has not spoken to the prime minister yet.
"I know representatives have met with the Chinese ambassador, and I don't know if the prime misinter has some special information to provide me with, but I anticipate that if he has new information that would be provided to me prior to our going to Parliament. I have not heard from him yet."
Ingraham met with Chinese Ambassador Hu Dingxian at the Office of the Prime Minister in Cable Beach on Thursday, to discuss the Baha Mar project.
Last week The Guardian also spoke to Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly Tommy Turnquest, who confirmed that the Ingraham administration intends to bring the labor resolution to Parliament on September 8.
The Guardian understands that since the announcement from the Cabinet Office late last month that the government of the People's Republic of China had approved the Baha Mar deal, Baha Mar officials have been meeting with officials from the prime minister's office to answer questions about the project.
Turnquest said the MPs would be allowed to express their views on the labor issue before the government makes a final determination.
If a majority of MPs take issue with that component, he said the government would have to take that into consideration prior to making its decision.
Turnquest said publicly that at the height of construction Baha Mar could have up to 8,000 foreign workers on the project.
Baha Mar has said that out of the 10,000 proposed construction jobs the project will create, at least 3,300 will be set aside for Bahamians. Eight thousand permanent jobs are also projected once the resort is completed.
The proposed Cable Beach development would be financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and constructed by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
If the project receives Bahamas government approval, Baha Mar's first course of action would be to award nearly $60 million of construction contracts to six Bahamian contractors, representing early infrastructure works needed to prepare the site, Baha Mar's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sarkis Izmirlian said in a press statement last month.
8/22/2010
thenassauguardian
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas (UTEB) members need a serious reality check
UTEB members need serious reality check
tribune242 editorial
WITH desperate parents having to transfer their children from private schools to an overcrowded public school system where there is now no room for them, we get news that members of the College of the Bahamas' teachers union are still not comfortable with their salaries.
At a time like this when hard working Bahamians -- who do not have the luxury of long summer vacations as do teachers -- are struggling to make ends meet and are forced to adjust to the realities of a tight economy, we have teachers, who should be leading by example, bleating about dissatisfaction with their own salaries. Where is the College to get the funds -- raise the fees of struggling students? These teachers should be thankful that they have a job - many Bahamians today are jobless, while others are out on the highway flashing phone cards for sale -- anything to make a few dollars to keep body and soul together. In the meantime, these elite teachers with full job security have the nerve to complain that they do not have enough.
"We feel like the salary package they have offered us really doesn't show us any respect as professionals," one union source told a Tribune reporter yesterday.
"It doesn't respect the work we do. We are talking about the persons who are educating the people who are driving national development.
"We think it really insults us what they have offered us and that they should rethink their position."
We wonder who was disrespecting contractor Charles Nottage who in better times could afford to send his daughter to a private school. Today he is faced with the reality that he can no longer afford this luxury for his child. Mr Nottage told The Tribune that for the past four years his daughter was in a private school. He dreaded the thought of having to move her to a government school, "but it is a necessity right now," he said.
However, he still does not "know what to do" because government schools are so overcrowded that he can find no place for her even there.
How are hard working Bahamians, who at present cannot afford to send their children to private schools, going to find the funds to pay teachers for higher education? If the COB union says the College Board is disrespecting its teachers, then who is respecting Bahamians like Charles Nottage who cannot afford private education for his child?
To make this statement about disrespect shows that these teachers have no sensitivity to the times in which we all live. They must be on a planet of their own creation. And yet people, like Mr Nottage, are willing to face reality and step down until conditions in the country change to give them an opportunity to again start their upward climb.
These are the hard working Bahamians who adjust to hard times and will survive. Those with the attitude of some of these teachers will be left floundering in their own importance. Eventually they get nowhere.
Earlier in the year the College announced that it could not agree to the demands of the Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas (UTEB), which would amount to an average increase of $11,500 per faculty member.
The union had demanded a reduction in workload for its teaches with an increase in pay ranging from 16 per cent to more than 19 per cent, for a total salary increase of 17.5 per cent.
The union seems to have something backward here. Business people are accustomed to paying more for more work -- not more for less. These teachers had better be sent back to school to get their maths in the right order. "The union's $11 million financial package would immediately add $8 million to the College's already overstretched budget and over $3 million annually thereafter," the College said.
The matter went to arbitration with both sides agreeing that they would accept the arbitrators' decision.
The arbitration committee, headed by St Matthew's Anglican Church rector Father James Palacious, said that neither side of the dispute would get exactly what they wanted.
However, when it came to UTEB's financial package, said the arbitrators, it would have been "very reasonable under normal circumstances," however in the end the committee had to adhere to the "economic reality." The committee referred to budget cuts and a still struggling economy. The teachers did not get what they wanted.
Despite this in today's Tribune UTEB president Jennifer Isaacs-Dotson has announced, unless the union gets a signed agreement, it is reserving its right to take a strike vote on Monday when COB is scheduled to open after the summer recess. Do they not have a signed agreement because the salary packet offered fails to show the respect they think their due? Have they rejected it?
Should they strike and create chaos for students on Monday, the College should be closed for a week with no pay for teachers during this time so that they can get a glimmer of what the arbitrators meant when they said they would have to adhere to "economic reality."
We do not think that many Bahamians -- other than some politicians, who appear to be looking for any unrest upon which to capitalise -- will have any sympathy for Mrs Dotson and her UTEB.
August 20, 2010
tribune242 editorial
tribune242 editorial
WITH desperate parents having to transfer their children from private schools to an overcrowded public school system where there is now no room for them, we get news that members of the College of the Bahamas' teachers union are still not comfortable with their salaries.
At a time like this when hard working Bahamians -- who do not have the luxury of long summer vacations as do teachers -- are struggling to make ends meet and are forced to adjust to the realities of a tight economy, we have teachers, who should be leading by example, bleating about dissatisfaction with their own salaries. Where is the College to get the funds -- raise the fees of struggling students? These teachers should be thankful that they have a job - many Bahamians today are jobless, while others are out on the highway flashing phone cards for sale -- anything to make a few dollars to keep body and soul together. In the meantime, these elite teachers with full job security have the nerve to complain that they do not have enough.
"We feel like the salary package they have offered us really doesn't show us any respect as professionals," one union source told a Tribune reporter yesterday.
"It doesn't respect the work we do. We are talking about the persons who are educating the people who are driving national development.
"We think it really insults us what they have offered us and that they should rethink their position."
We wonder who was disrespecting contractor Charles Nottage who in better times could afford to send his daughter to a private school. Today he is faced with the reality that he can no longer afford this luxury for his child. Mr Nottage told The Tribune that for the past four years his daughter was in a private school. He dreaded the thought of having to move her to a government school, "but it is a necessity right now," he said.
However, he still does not "know what to do" because government schools are so overcrowded that he can find no place for her even there.
How are hard working Bahamians, who at present cannot afford to send their children to private schools, going to find the funds to pay teachers for higher education? If the COB union says the College Board is disrespecting its teachers, then who is respecting Bahamians like Charles Nottage who cannot afford private education for his child?
To make this statement about disrespect shows that these teachers have no sensitivity to the times in which we all live. They must be on a planet of their own creation. And yet people, like Mr Nottage, are willing to face reality and step down until conditions in the country change to give them an opportunity to again start their upward climb.
These are the hard working Bahamians who adjust to hard times and will survive. Those with the attitude of some of these teachers will be left floundering in their own importance. Eventually they get nowhere.
Earlier in the year the College announced that it could not agree to the demands of the Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas (UTEB), which would amount to an average increase of $11,500 per faculty member.
The union had demanded a reduction in workload for its teaches with an increase in pay ranging from 16 per cent to more than 19 per cent, for a total salary increase of 17.5 per cent.
The union seems to have something backward here. Business people are accustomed to paying more for more work -- not more for less. These teachers had better be sent back to school to get their maths in the right order. "The union's $11 million financial package would immediately add $8 million to the College's already overstretched budget and over $3 million annually thereafter," the College said.
The matter went to arbitration with both sides agreeing that they would accept the arbitrators' decision.
The arbitration committee, headed by St Matthew's Anglican Church rector Father James Palacious, said that neither side of the dispute would get exactly what they wanted.
However, when it came to UTEB's financial package, said the arbitrators, it would have been "very reasonable under normal circumstances," however in the end the committee had to adhere to the "economic reality." The committee referred to budget cuts and a still struggling economy. The teachers did not get what they wanted.
Despite this in today's Tribune UTEB president Jennifer Isaacs-Dotson has announced, unless the union gets a signed agreement, it is reserving its right to take a strike vote on Monday when COB is scheduled to open after the summer recess. Do they not have a signed agreement because the salary packet offered fails to show the respect they think their due? Have they rejected it?
Should they strike and create chaos for students on Monday, the College should be closed for a week with no pay for teachers during this time so that they can get a glimmer of what the arbitrators meant when they said they would have to adhere to "economic reality."
We do not think that many Bahamians -- other than some politicians, who appear to be looking for any unrest upon which to capitalise -- will have any sympathy for Mrs Dotson and her UTEB.
August 20, 2010
tribune242 editorial
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bishop Simeon Hall: Illegal immigrants would not be in The Bahamas in such high numbers without the "complicity of some corrupt persons in authority
Immigration appeal 'may become joke'
tribune242
THE government's appeal for all illegal immigrants to leave the country must be "substantive" or it will become a "joke", Bishop Simeon Hall warned yesterday.
Brent Symonette, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently ordered all illegal immigrants residing in the Bahamas to voluntarily leave the country or face immediate deportation.
However, Bishop Hall, senior pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church, said the appeal must not only be given to Haitians and Jamaicans but also to Americans, Europeans and Chinese who he says have "corrupted the system by buying their stay here."
The bishop said: "All persons who compromise the immigration laws of the Bahamas must know that the majority of Bahamians are not prepared for them to have a free ride on the back of those who must work hard every day to build this country."
In the statement, Bishop Hall noted that "it is the government's responsibility to enforce all laws of the Bahamas, especially to protect our national sovereignty. Successive governments have promised during election time to deal with the overwhelming problem of illegal immigration in the country, yet it remains a vexing situation."
Bishop Hall also claimed that illegal immigrants would not be in the country in such high numbers without the "complicity of some corrupt persons in authority."
He added: "Illegal immigrants have corrupted many agencies in our Bahamas and this pronouncement by the Minister must have teeth or it becomes laughable."
August 21, 2010
tribune242
tribune242
THE government's appeal for all illegal immigrants to leave the country must be "substantive" or it will become a "joke", Bishop Simeon Hall warned yesterday.
Brent Symonette, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently ordered all illegal immigrants residing in the Bahamas to voluntarily leave the country or face immediate deportation.
However, Bishop Hall, senior pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church, said the appeal must not only be given to Haitians and Jamaicans but also to Americans, Europeans and Chinese who he says have "corrupted the system by buying their stay here."
The bishop said: "All persons who compromise the immigration laws of the Bahamas must know that the majority of Bahamians are not prepared for them to have a free ride on the back of those who must work hard every day to build this country."
In the statement, Bishop Hall noted that "it is the government's responsibility to enforce all laws of the Bahamas, especially to protect our national sovereignty. Successive governments have promised during election time to deal with the overwhelming problem of illegal immigration in the country, yet it remains a vexing situation."
Bishop Hall also claimed that illegal immigrants would not be in the country in such high numbers without the "complicity of some corrupt persons in authority."
He added: "Illegal immigrants have corrupted many agencies in our Bahamas and this pronouncement by the Minister must have teeth or it becomes laughable."
August 21, 2010
tribune242
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