Tonight, BDF soldiers are getting ready for a pay-cut that could come as early as May. As we have reported, an error was made in 2019 which put soldiers on the wrong pay scale, meaning they have been getting overpaid for 5 years. Correcting the error now means cutting these soldiers' paychecks. And, for the enlisted soldiers who make up about 75% of the army - their salaries are already low, and now they could face a pay cut which could bring down their earnings substantially.
The exact figures are currently being calculated - and soldiers are anxious and weighing their options. Some of them have been speaking to the president of the PSU who we spoke with via zoom this evening. He told us these soldiers have to fight to preserve their salaries:
Dean Flowers, President, PSU
"And so we're saying if it is that you wanted to correct the BDF salaries because there was an anomaly over payment then you should have made that or you should make that correction across the public service."
"Don't target those who are already at the bottom of the barrel or at the bottom end of the payscale and that is our problem here in that they do not want to correct the anomaly that exists amongst the CEOs."
"They do not want to correct the anomaly that exists where the heads of department are concerned or deputy heads of department in some cases. They do not wish to correct those, but they want to correct the salaries of the individuals who are laboring and who are ensuring and guaranteeing our safety and security."
"So we believe there is no equality in the manner in which the BDF soldiers are being treated and we believe that the right thing that should have occurred or that should occur is that police officers and Coast Guard officers should be elevated to that anomaly where the BDF soldiers are because they are already grossly under compensated for the quality and the kind of work and the number of hours that they're required to put in and so it is for the BDF soldiers especially those who stand to be affected significantly in as much as 30 percent as you would have suggested."
"It is for them to ensure that they organize themselves and it is for them to decide if they will listen to the voices who will say to them that they cannot organize. They have a right to organize to defend their livelihood and organizing is different from unionizing."
"They can organize, they can take a stand against this and it is up to them to do that in their best interests. Of course, we are far from calling for them to engage in any coup or anything of that sort."
"However, you must organize, you must formulate your positions and you must respectfully and professionally put that to the powers that be. And if it is that your livelihood is threatened, and if it is that the government will not protect that livelihood, because this is bread and butter issue now, then it is for them to decide what next."
We'll keep following the story.
