BVI News

‘Long-hearted’ supervisors behind low wages in public service, Premier promises salary review

Premier Andrew Fahie

While stating that legislators don’t determine salaries in the public service, Premier Andrew Fahie has said some supervisors and persons in managerial roles are behind the low wages being paid to government employees.

“I cannot understand why [some of these] persons with certain qualifications are in this [salary] grade … Sometimes it just takes for the person that is over you to be fair to you and put you in the [better and deserving] grade and sign off on it. But some, and only a few, don’t see why persons should get that money. We call them long-hearted in our culture. But they are not always going to be,” the Premier Fahie said during a public discussion on Virgin Gorda on Wednesday night.

Salary review coming

Fahie, who is also Minister of Finance, said his government is now considering to have a salary review within the public service.

He reasoned that government workers will be “enthused to work more” if they are paid more money.

“I have absolutely no problem paying a person or a professional for what they are worth … [A] salary review is important,” he said.

The Premier further said the salary review would result in government employees receiving bonuses if they assist the government in achieving a surplus.

“We can say, ‘you really pushed this year — here is Christmas. Here is this bonus and here is the real salary that we are going to give you’. Because, if you don’t pay people well, they will make sure that you don’t do well and they will make sure that they get their money some other way. It is as simple as that and that encourages ill-advised behaviour in any system which seems to be an issue,” he reasoned.

“We have to come with modernized plans in the public service. We cannot take a 20th-century problem and try to solve it with a 19th-century mentality,” Fahie argued.

His comments follow an argument that several seasoned public servants are being lured to the Recovery and Development Agency, which offers higher salaries.

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37 Comments

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  1. Roam says:

    Research has shown that paying a person more money does not produce more work but how you make that person feel, appreciate and treat them makes the difference.

    Like 54
    Dislike 4
    • Who Roam kidding? says:

      What about being financially fit to maintain how he/she produce the work? Have you seen the culture now, people in low income homes are forced to work two jobs. Cost of living is extremely high. Everybody and their grandparents are sharing to maintain rent. It’s only far people have a chance to earn proper wages to offset some of the burden.
      I met a few Air Traffic Controllers while in Antigua for their festival. These guys said that they have to be on point with their job all the time, it’s people life in their hands. The company give them all that is required to help them ease that burden. Although, yes I agree they need to feel appreciated more, a pat on the shoulder will always be their from a colleague it’s more than just doing and saying that counts. I have met a few people here that I wonder how they get by, salary are low and after chatting then they will come out and say I have a second job which they at first will be ashamed to say. God know we shouldn’t be working to live day to day, or even having a second income to offset living expenses.
      The BVI is sitting on some serious money, and because of poor management we refused to address issues like this. I am ashamed to say, my family is currently running Gov’t and the leader should by pass this salary review, because that will end up trying to match what our neighbours in other OTs are paying. We don’t want that, the BVI should set examples for other to follow. We have the largest employment of Public servants, other country should be coming to us to see how we are running our depts and we should train them to do the same.

      Like 16
      Dislike 7
    • Hmmmmmmmmm says:

      Check Public Work Staff employees in position being paid and doing NOTHING!!!!!!!!

      Like 26
      Dislike 5
      • I agree says:

        Public Works is one set of lazy…..they only act like they are working on pay day.

        • Concerned says:

          My dear premier i say leave the salaries as is. Just increase the high and top performance persons salary. Please let there be an incentive to strive for excellence. The reality is the public service have very hard working people but it also has lazy bum also. How could you reward those who arent performing in the first place

    • Your 2 cents says:

      Speak for you and those people who don’t or wont produce more. Stop roaming

    • Money does matter says:

      Research also claims that most black persons are retarded. Even though I wonder about that when I see these scooter riders, it is nonetheless a big strategic lie. Research can be manipulated to support whatever madness the researcher believes or whatever agenda his greedy sponsors have.

      It is crazy to think a person will produce for peanuts and be happy because you pat him on the head. This is the brainwashing we get from many churches and colleges.

      I work for a good salary (to me) and will perform beyond what is necessary specifically because of that.

    • Tisk Tisk says:

      Says a person who is well compensated. You obviously don’t know how it feels to work hard and have nothing to show for it. It’s your kind of thinking that keep people enslaved.

    • E Scott says:

      can somebody inform the premier we are in the 21st century not the 20th. what an uneducated i***t

  2. NDP says:

    ayo will wait on that

    Like 18
  3. wow wow wow says:

    your issue is not the wages, the issue is that the public sector has grown to be with 5000 people employed by government..reducing the public sector is the solution!

    Like 34
    Dislike 4
    • Well sir says:

      @Wow wow, the World financial body and the UK financial institution all already inform the BVI that their work force is way over budget and over employed. but for some reason Government believe that they an have their cousins sitting in Government Jobs doing nothing but on their Phone 24/7 and expect to be paid as professionals. well if that what the want I have no problem than to pay them for sitting on their A– all day.

      Like 28
      Dislike 4
      • Yes says:

        Cousin, Aunt, Uncle sitting back drawing a easy salary for doing nothing. Meanwhile, you have skilled people that is not KIN is denied a chance to get a job. And they wonder why the young people who left for College refuse to come back home.

        • US says:

          I am not willing to give up my good paying job in the US to come back home anytime soon. Maybe when I retire. In the US,you can always find a job.If you don’t have a job it is because you don’t want a job.

          Like 2
          Dislike 2
    • Hmmmmmmmmm says:

      Start from PUBLIC WORKS!!!!!!!

      Like 13
      Dislike 1
  4. Ausar says:

    Dont forget the medical workers, Premier!

    Docters, nurses and the likes are paid pittances in comparison to other similar jurisdictions!

    Again, Premier: the medical workers, too, should be included in increased remunerations!

    Like 9
    Dislike 3
  5. Long eyed says:

    We also call them Long-eyed and bad-minded in our culture. They know who they are

    Like 15
  6. Att.. says:

    While doctors and nurses got some raise other staff in the hospital has not gotten a red cent if the minister should come by the hospital and have a meeting with each department then they would know it is real yes we are working in an upside down run institution for more than 10years a set of staff has not received an increment we were promised but as they say a promise is a comfort to a fool the money stays at the top while the little man doing the job to keep the institution looking good and we cant pay our bills and have change to meet the next pay date

    Like 11
    Dislike 1
    • Int. says:

      They need to look into the salary of on call officers, not the doctors, nurses or the executives, those in the lab, x ray, histology, when last was there a review of the on call rate. ??? are these people who leave their homes all hours of the night and morning, in the rain sometimes, being remunerated or covered in the event they get in an accident on there way to their call………to do there job.

  7. @roam says:

    I could shake you hand. It all how you make people feel. Not always about the money.

    Like 1
    Dislike 2
    • Facts says:

      When I go to the supermarket or to pay utility bills, they expect the $$$. They are not concerned about how my job makes me feel.

      • Correct says:

        are you saying companies should pay the same salaries as the US – UK or other? There are many factors to consider you know.

  8. concerned says:

    The professional staff or persons holding a degree salary starts below the halfway point on the salary scale and that can never be right.

  9. Time to clean house says:

    The public sector need to start cutting back. Give them a buy out package and call it a day.

  10. Anonymous says:

    If those words were to be placed into legislation, acted upon and passed, and the benefits of those were to come down to the average and all employees within six months, this government will stand to gain significant political clout.

    However, if this is just another pre-political sugar drop on the tongue teaser, in which four years will have to elapse for poor needing folks to see results, it could be a worthless piece political strategizing.

  11. Sky says:

    I’m 31 and working three jobs just to survive and going college at the same time I want to be able to live comfortable in the future….

    • @Sky says:

      Why it has to come to working three jobs? That is a bad picture for people to follow, school should be affordable and working a job to meet all the needs should be equivalent to sustain us in the Virgin Islands. We make so much money from our financial industry that we can’t see it applied on the ground in these Virgin Islands. Poor roads, school and infrastructure in the BVI to this day is a shame of how we are living. No wonder the UK didn’t want to help us, we have money floating around and people in power is not doing what they supposed to.

    • @Sky says:

      Ask the CEO of RDA to contribute $50, 000 of his over paid salary to yours.

  12. Hmmmmmmm says:

    Another salary review? Was not one done with KPMG before? How much money we going to be pushing into reviews and not having the outcomes implemented?

  13. Bigga p says:

    What about the prison don’t forget to look at that

  14. Cutting back says:

    Check them out @ bviaa we say them to bad minded in our culture pay the ppl them money what they work hard for

  15. From here says:

    well i work at the hospital for 12 yrs now no increment no raise a pay nothing,we who work in the kitchen ,environmental services we always left behind.they dont care about us.only the nurses and doctor.the hospital need new mangement to run the hospital.it not getting better.it getting worst.#CAREABOUTTHESMALLMAN.

    • Fact says:

      Getting new management won’t guarantee a salary increase. Adding more money don’t guarantee improved performance either. If the organization salary system don’t match your needs look toward improving yourself for promotions or a new job that pays more. You cant stay in a job for donkey years and expect the system to keep increasing salary for the same job over and over. That’s organization abuse.

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