Union boss: we had it too good

Maynard Dill, head of the Bermuda Trade Union Congress, suggested that the labour movement had, in some cases, struck too good a deal for its workers.

It is perhaps the first time a local union leader has publically conceded that the unions may have over-played their hand in negotiations over pay and conditions.

Speaking at the Bermuda Public Services Union’s delegates’ conference, Mr. Dill said both unions and employers would have to work more closely together in the new financial climate.

Scrutiny

His comments come amid heightened scrutiny of unions worldwide, with inflated wage bills, pensions and benefits blamed for contributing to economic meltdown.

In the U.S., Wisconsin lawmakers yesterday controversially voted to remove collective bargaining rights for public workers, including teachers, amid claims their salaries and pensions are bankrupting the state.

The situation in Bermuda has not reached those extremes and the relationship between Government and the BPSU remains strong, with Acting Premier Derrick Burgess speaking up in support of unions at yesterday’s conference.

But high staff levels, wage increases and pensions have been highlighted as factors in Government’s escalating debt burden.

And Mr. Dill among others, yesterday signalled that unions may need a softer, more pragmatic approach in tough economic times.

He said: “We have helped exacerbate the propensity of workers to be content in the positions they hold, based on the sometime inflated, above market wages we have won for our constituents…

“We fought hard for these gains in our quest for economic and social parity.

“However, if hindsight was 20/20 was it really in the best interest of our constituents? Was it in the best interest of our country?”

He said the increases could only be economically justified if they were matched by an increase in productivity. A different approach, he said, could have achieved the same deal for workers without creating ‘unsustainable costs’ for their employers.

“Negotiated settlements over time have elevated wages and benefits above the sustainable level that the market can bear.

“This is a precursor to unemployment, a reduction in the spending power of workers and corresponding decrease in demand.

“This decreases real GDP growth, and jeopardizes all the gains society as a whole has benefitted from.

“However, it has been proven that when unions encourage members to levels of high productivity, and significant improvement in production, this has justified wage levels and as a result the economy benefited.”

He suggested it would have been better to improve the lives of workers by assisting them in gaining promotions through training and development.

“We have in some cases over-valued some positions and by doing this devalued others,” he added.

He said encouraging a “more you learn, the more you earn” environment would help strengthen the link between improved pay and conditions and improved performance.

“We should have encouraged those on lower pay scales to accept and participate in training and more important, development.

“These are the main instruments that prepare individuals for increases in remuneration, through either horizontal or vertical promotion.”

He added that a “naiveté” about economics had led Unions to concentrate on short-term bumps in wages and benefits rather than long term goals.

“In our zeal to ensure economic parity and social justice for workers did we in reality achieve the opposite and in doing so perpetrate a disservice to workers and Bermuda, albeit not intentionally, but naively through a lack of understanding of economics and the dire consequences this would reap.”

Mr. Dill’s remarks came in a lively debate at the BPSU’s conference in front of around 100 delegates at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess yesterday.

Jobs for life

Fellow speakers, including Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess and outgoing BPSU president Armel Thomas, also spoke of the need for Government, employers and unions to make compromises to maintain jobs amid the financial crisis.

Assistant Cabinet secretary Judith Hall-Bean said the days of ‘jobs for life’ in Government regardless of performance are gone.

Mrs. Hall-Bean warned that civil service jobs were ‘not as secure as they used to be’ and that staff had to be more efficient and more productive.

“The public sector is always blamed for inappropriate service and inefficient employees. How many times have you heard, ‘Those government employees are just getting a salary and doing no work’?” Mrs. Hall-Bean said.

“Government and the people of Bermuda are demanding more efficiency.”

She reaffirmed Premier Paula Cox’s commitment not to cut civil service staff.

But Mrs. Hall-Bean said increased productivity and flexibility would be required of civil service workers. She said vacant positions would be reviewed and staff who retired would not necessarily be replaced.

“Drastic cuts and savings are required to maintain employment levels, she added.

She said the Premier was determined to ensure the Civil Service improved its performance.