Union members agree to three-month overtime ban from Government

Public Works staff will sacrifice double time for “straight” wages for three months from April 1.

The ban will save Government an estimated $375,000.

Union members of the Ministry of Public Works met with Acting Minister Michael Weeks yesterday.

Chris Furbert, Bermuda Industrial Union president, said Public Works Minister Derrick Burgess had approached the union to ask if it would reduce overtime costs.

Yesterday, 400 workers in the BIU agreed to a three month-ban — but the union will reexamine the situation at the end of March.

Mr. Furbert said workers have complained about the number of Government consultants and their salaries. In 2008-9 an estimated $25 million was spent on international consultants. The 2010-11 Budget was allocated $27 million.

Mr. Furbert said: “All we want to see is that Government makes sure the consultants are going down and not up. They [members] are trying to make sure Government is doing everything they can to cut costs from the top down, rather than the bottom up.”

Mr. Furbert said the BIU had discussed productivity with Mr. Burgess, due to public complaints about Government projects overrunning. He added: “You can’t put all of the onus on them [the workers].” But he said employers such as the Corporation of Hamilton had complained about sick leave. Mr. Furbert went on: “You can’t just put the blame on the workers.

“We’ve been asking for the best part of 10 years that Government, as employers, give the union a quarterly sick leave printout so we can look at the issue.

“But Government does deserve credit as none of our members have been laid off or made redundant in this 18-month recession.”