We decided to share this article with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The Nassau Tribune published this article by Ava Turnquest on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Digital Editor
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
Prime Minister Philip Davis committed to meeting with union leaders in the coming days as he promised dozens of workers that they will receive payments before Christmas.
He addressed crowds outside the House of Assembly after Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) presidents Kimsley Ferguson and Belinda Wilson led workers to Parliament chanting “pay us our money”.
Among key issues were unresolved concerns over the delay in government wage increases.
Union executives have previously accused the government of excluding key worker groups and failing to consult unions before announcing the pay increases.
In his message to the crowd today, Mr Davis said: “First of all, the decision to give y’all some money came from me, from my heart. I understood that y’all need that. It was nothing negotiated, I’m trying to help all of you, y’all will be paid and the payment will be before Christmas. You will be paid before Christmas.”
It was announced last month that public servants who missed earlier pay raises would now receive them in December, not in September as previously planned.
The government advised increases will be retroactive to September, with each employee receiving at least two salary increments, though the size of the increases will vary by category.