NASSAU| Under the theme “The Way Forward: A Plan for Recovery and Progress”, Prime Minister The Hon. Philip Brave Davis Q.C. tabled in Parliament his first national budget communication.
PM Davis told Parliament the first priority is to help Bahamians cope with a cost-of-living crisis. Bahamians are already struggling with high energy prices, high food prices, and expensive housing costs.
Prime Minister announced a plan to increase the salaries of public officers, “…we have therefore engaged the leadership of the various public service unions to reach an agreement. At this time, we also like to announce the full reinstatement and payment of all outstanding increments.
“We also believe that the rate of minimum wage needs to increase because of the general erosion of spending power of ordinary Bahamians – an imperative which has been made more urgent by the current level of inflation.
“To this end, we have submitted the proposal to BPSU to increase minimum wage in the public sector with incremental increases starting in July 2022.
“We have also engaged union leadership on the issue of a contributory pension plan.Contrary to popular belief, a significant portion of the public service workforce has no pension. This is simply untenable and we hope that our partners in the labour movement share our view, and seek to correct this anomaly within this fiscal period.”
