Opinion: “Redistribution Of Power And Wealth”
[Opinion column written by Chris Famous]
In July 2014, Premier Michael Dunkley tabled the “For Information” Public Bodies Reform Bill 2014 [PBRA] in the House of Assembly. This bill would pave the way for Mutualization, Outsourcing, Privatization and merging of bodies and offices.
In response, the BPSU/Bermuda Trade Union Congress [BTUC] sent to OBA a list of their concerns including:
- the impact on the balance of the constitution
- the independence of key bodies from ministerial interference
- lack of consultation with all stakeholders prior to the making of ministerial orders
- the sale of government property
- ignoring the constitutional principle that primary legislation is amended or repealed only by Parliament
- decisions of any ruling party remain subject to effective parliamentary scrutiny
- relegate the Civil service to an “administrative body” with limited powers
In October 2014, Finance Minister Bob Richards held a Town Hall Event to discuss the PBRA. This lead to a massive turn out by concerned Bermudians.
Subsequent to that meeting the BPSU drafted a report outlining on their official stance on PBRA in which they stated:
The BPSU is of the opinion that the establishment of the SAGE Commission and the Efficiency and Reform Authority is less about true reform of the public service but designed to carry out the Government’s principal methodology of reform, privatization.
Immediately following the release of this report, the BTUC met with the OBA and made it clear that they “could not support the Public Reform Act …..without first having a real conversation about Public Service Reform”
Peace Pipes?
These talks resulted in the BTUC getting the OBA to agree that the Bill would “not be tabled during the first session of the House of Assembly and will be deferred thereafter should collective efforts result in a 5% reduction in the operating budget for 2014/15.”
It was at this point the Working Group was formed and tasked by the Minister of Finance with finding $67 million to meet budget goals.
Until the Philosophy..
On Friday January 23rd a letter was sent to the BTUC stating that the Government was insisting on furlough days to be continued and if not 5,000 + Civil Servants would face pay cuts.
Many questioned the hostile position created by the Premier and his Cabinet by:-
- souring negotiations by sending the BTUC a highly contentious letter in which the OBA threatened to shut the government down and send the workers home if they did not agree with continuing with furloughs,
- attempting to mislead the public by denying that the BTUC initially proposed $65 – $85m in cuts
- making remarks about the BTUC by accusing them of misrepresenting facts aka lying
- delaying the acceptance of cuts that were approved by OBA negotiators
Many were left scratching their heads wondering why the OBA was engaging in such strong-arm, gutter tactics which prompted 5,000 persons to come out in force for 3 days.
The real motive
This fight is not only about furlough days; the fight is much bigger than that.
The OBA are seemingly in an all-out war to prevent the BTUC from reaching the agreed 5% cost-cutting target. If the BTUC fails to reach this target, the OBA would be able to keep the PBRA in play.
With this Bill comes the ability to privatize the civil service. Through privatization, the OBA would be able to break yet another promise; the pre-election promise that no civil servants jobs will be cut under an OBA government.
Even more importantly, this Bill would also grant the OBA the power to shift lucrative government departments from the public sector into the outstretched hands of the private sector aka “Friends and Family.”
Prime targets of Privatization are:-
- Agriculture and Fisheries
- Aircraft Registry
- Airport Operation
- Shipping Registry
- Works and Engineering
This war is all about the redistribution of power and wealth.
“Old Pirates yes they rob I” – Bob Marley
- Chris Famous can be contacted via email at Carib_pro@yahoo.com or Twitter at @ryderz777
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amen…privatize these useless numpties
Well done, Mr. Famous. An excellent rendering of the OBA’s tactics and its real agenda: taking Bermuda from Bermudians and selling it off to the highest bidder.
So what was it that happened with bank of Bermuda and BNTB?
OBA were not in Government then
Bermuda has been sold off already. The owners are called Banks, and they now own Bermuda until the debt is repaid. The same as someone who buys a house with a mortgage. The house is not theirs until the mortgage has been paid. Bermuda has been subjected to a reverse mortgage by the PLP.
Well written article Chris. You have clearly outlined the facts in a very systematic way that makes it difficult for any one to dispute.
Do not get distracted by the same daily OBA fan club. They will attempt to do what the do best….play “Blame it on the PLP” Game….that’s all they got….
…it is not longer working as our economy is failing to grow…some day they might just get it…..really
“Oh Pirates yes they rub I”,,, I….this is a fitting song for this time…..
Well done. …
Standing Strong and together. ……
The PLP are primarily responsible for selling us out to the tune of $2,000,000,000 to non-Bermudian foreign lenders to fund their lavish political lifestyle. But why let that pesky FACT inform your argument Betty?
Mr. Famous yet again conveniently forgets that golden TRUTH nugget in his one sided, unbalanced and cherry picking opinion piece.
But that’s par for the course for someone who calls for dialogue (which the OBA in fact did by inviting the BTUC to discuss the upcoming budget – something the PLP never did during their 14 years * the public purse) but is blinded by party allegiances to speak or write fairly on the issues.
The whole thing is going down the tube if the DEBT situation is not dealt with. Further, if opportunity is not broadly afforded to all comers – those obstructing others from opportunity will soon find that we are all in this sh**ter together.
Quo Fata Ferunt
Something that stands out in my mind is how different the opposition parties have operated over the past few decades. When the PLP were the opposition prior to 1998, they did little more than criticise and malign the UBP government about all they were not doing, particularly for black people. Interestingly when the PLP became the government they failed to do much of what they had been so vocal about, while the UBP opposition were no where near as critical and taunting. The PLP are opposition once again and their criticism and lack of any constructive contribution continues unabated. Where they could be a good, uniting opposition they choose instead to sow division and hatred. Truly a shame for this country!
I still do not fully understand the benefits of privatization. Take the Bermuda Tourism Authority, for example. The taxpayers still forked over $20 million or so. If the BTA does not earn sufficient money from the hotel tax, then tax payers will still be forking over a lot of money. So what was really achieved through this privatization?
If tourism turns a corner and the BTA earns sufficient revenue from the hotel tax, will they pay this money back? Will the tax payers continuously be forking over tens of millions of dollars to this private entity with no plans for repayment?
Privatization rids the expenses off of the Government’s income statement. The majority of Govt departments record a loss each and every year with the main source of expenditure being salaries. the public salaries which are on average $18k higher than the private sector worker. The private sector worker is the one that is taxed to fund the above average civil servant salaries. These salaries are so high now that the Govt is being forced to borrow just to pay them down. Borrowing to pay basic operating costs results in inevitable collapse, no matter if you are a business or Government.
The BTA grant of $20mn was $5mn less than the previous budget allocation. So immediate savings recognized right there. The initial $20mn grant is essentially seed money to get the BTA off the ground and running. Going forward the grants will be reduced as the private sector, once again, begins to fund the BTA operations which in turn provides advertising for the hospitality sector. I must admit I haven’t read the BTA Act in quite some time and can’t accurately quote the structure, but it is modeled after other tourism authoritys instituted by our Caribbean cousins while many other jurisdictions have opted for the same route.
“The BTA grant of $20mn was $5mn less than the previous budget allocation. So immediate savings recognized right there. The initial $20mn grant is essentially seed money to get the BTA off the ground and running”
Wouldn’t reducing the Dept of Tourism’s budget by $5 accomplish the same cost savings? We are told there were no job losses and essentially everyone from the old Dept of Tourism is now in the new BTA. Plus, there was hiring of many more executive positions. With the new executive positions, I would assume the overall salary of the BTA is higher than the previous Dept of Tourism.
So what was really accomplished. You say privatization cleans up the income statement…how? Whether Govt allocates $20m to it’s Dept of Tourism or gives it to the BTA, it is still $20m gone.
It’s a war, Chris? Really…. a WAR? Don’t you think that that is inflammatory, even by your standards? Why are you fanning the flames in such a way? I don’t expect you to be balanced, but to incite like this ……
I didnt realize Jupiters moons had life on them…this space cadet is proof they do !!.
The differences between this opinion piece and Mr. Burchall’s opinion piece highlight the divide and approach in thinking when it comes to our financial position.
Mr. Famous relies purely on conjecture, assumptions, allegations and false dichotomies as a means to try and influence his readers’ opinions.
Nowhere in any of his pieces, ever, has Mr. Famous addressed the dire position of our finances or acknowledged that if steps aren’t taken now to arrest our financial quagmire that a furlough day would save jobs and stave off true austerity that will be forced upon this island by external powers (i.e. creditors). There are no facts presented, just his simple interpretation of events which are influenced by his inherent biases and prejudices.
Instead of confronting reality he tries to connect the dots that aren’t there and use inflammatory language and insinuations as an attempt to rile up emotions based on false conspiracy theories. He never mentions (or mentioned) the $300mn deficit, the $2.1bn debt or the fact that two thirds of Government expenditure is now earmarked immediately for civil service wages and debt payments. That leaves little to nothing left over for any infrastructure enhancements, spending on social programmes, capital projects etc. Again, these are omitted because they are cold hard facts that he can’t spin away into one of his biased narratives. He would rather see cuts to these smaller expenditures as opposed to reductions in the largest expense. That is truly anti-Bermudian in every sense of his true Bermudian definition that he has peddled for some years now.
Mr. Famous states that the Union found $65mn to $85mn in savings, but fails to acknowledge that once discussed with their Government counterparts that only $37mn of the proposals were deemed to be likely, with which the Union agreed. If I am wrong then the author should easily be able to list the proposals that achieved their claims and confirm his allegation that the Government is lying about the only $37mn that is realistic. I mean he is the one in the above article who has now publically claimed the Government is lying about the achieved savings and as such he should be able to prove it with irrefutable facts. But I bet he won’t, simply because he can’t. Just as he can’t validate the claim that the proposed Act is so the ‘greedy OBA’ can get their hands on the public assets. He can’t because it is fairy tales and storytelling.
There are distinct reasons why Mr. Famous conveniently omits any mention on our dire financial position and the adverse effects that it can have on all of Bermuda if it is not resolved immediately and why he refuses to comment on any piece where there is a number focused review of our financial issues. That would be a) he simply doesn’t understand or grasp our current financial realities or b) he hates this Government so much he is willing to assist in widening the divide simply for political gain and place all of our financial futures in jeopardy for the sake of Party. In my opinion it is a little bit of both. It is much easier to create underhanded conspiracy theories instead of addressing the actual problem or actually coming up with solutions.
Keep calm and spin on Mr. Famous. You are doing wonders for your Party, not so much Bermuda however. Just how you like it I imagine.
Well done. This was very well written and I would love to see a rebuttal.
Excellent summation.
Even more importantly, this Bill would also grant the O.B.A. the power to shift lucrative government departments from the public sector into the outstretched hands of the private sector a.k.a. “Friends and Family.”
Question: Mr. Chris Famous sir, who knew more about how to distribute to the “outstretched hands” a.k.a. “Friends and Family” than the former government, i.e. the Progressive Labour Party?
Prime targets of Privatization are:-
Agriculture and Fisheries
Aircraft Registry
Airport Operation
Shipping Registry
Works and Engineering
The above are good ideas. Can’t you see we’re sinking by putting so many demands on Government?
Please, Mr. Famous, stop the bull-crap because this isn’t all about the distribution of power and wealth…Yet, you and certain others continue
to believe this line:“Old Pirates yes they rob I” – Bob Marley.
Them, (the vast majority) that are in Government are quite wealthy already. So you see, they are more of an asset than a hindrance to all Bermudians
This article largely does not make sense.
Do any of his op-eds make sense? Whenever i see a new one, i read the headline, the first paragraph, maybe the last paragraph, then skip right to the comments, which to me is the most interesting part!
The more things stay the same, the greater the ultimate change.
Change is required now whilst we can have an input to that change.
Stalling change for personal agendas will result in a fire sale.
Sorry no money to pay you, next , sorry no money to pay you, next, sorry no money to pay you, next………
Privatisation doesn’t mean job losses if those jobs are needed to get the work done. Can actually be done with employee ownership models. why don’t you want employees to own the business Chris?
These things could improve the futures of so many Bermudians
Why the scaremongering Chris?
Is it a personal agenda, or are you getting paid?
Tynes Bay will cost over $200 million. How many employees do you think can afford even $1 million?
That’s not how it works Chris. They would be the employees and Government would be bidding for them to do the work.
Tynes Bay is already partially privatized. The public area is operated by Hunts Sanitation. The Emissions Control (a useless expense) is privatised, operated by a company owned by Dr Brown’s cousin, Donal Smith. Recycling collection is privatized, operated by Hunts Sanitation. All privatized by the PLP.
I think the BIU could easily afford $200 million. May need to borrow initially but if it is really as lucrative for the government, and by extension anyone buying, as the BIU would like us to believe than it should not be a problem.
How did you come up with that Valuation Chris…please enlighten us…Come on !!!!
It’s a cost centre currently that generates zero money apart from government funds… If it costs BMD 20million a year to run then if it can be run for 18million (including capital replacement fun then there is a 2million profit to distribute.
If left as is and cost 20million then nobody benefits and nobody has an interest in making it more efficient or generating revenue from other income streams.
Employees can buy in either initially and/or through a profitability share based incentive program during their employment.
Not sure if any of you were at Cabinet last week however the tone and actions towards the workers by the OBA over the last few months.
Class warfare.
Read the blogs and see the tone directed towards the workers standing up for their rights.
Class warfare.
5,000 Bermudians have children and families to support and were promised by this government that they would not lose their jobs. Min Richards got on TV and said election promises have expired.
So was that yet another lie told by the OBA?
Here’s the thing..Americas Cup will not save us. IB is shrinking due to various global reasons.Quite simply the economy must be diversified.
Thanks for reading.
Can you list the rights that were violated of the ‘workers?’ I consider myself a worker (as I work and get paid) as well and can’t for the life of me see what inalienable right was trampled upon.
The furlough day is designed that so no jobs are lost.
How can it be class warfare when the average civil servant salary is $18,000 more than the average private sector salary?
There are civil servants taking home less than $40,000 per year.
Then they are in the minority. If not the average salary wouldn’t be so high. Secondly, that must mean that the lowest private sector salary is much less than even the lowest civil servant salary.
Conveniently forgetting the massive vacation, sick days, health insurance and outrageous pension benefits enjoyed by the public sector.
I have no doubt that there are low-paid workers in the CS but for every person who is paid < 40,000 there is someone else earning $116,000 or more (based on an average wage of $78,000 per Chris Furbert) so hardly "Class warfare".
Also bear in mind that the people who bore the brunt of the action last week were the working class people of Bermuda and in many cases those who are on minimum wage. Those people who depend on public transport and struggled to get to jobs and had to pay/ make alternate arrangements for their kids. Again hardly "class warfare".
But the average salary of a civil servant is $78,000 as confirmed by the BTUC. Of course some workers make more and some make less. Either way, the average is considerably higher that the private sector which has experienced thousands of job losses while the civil service has had none.
Why did you omit that important fact in your opinion piece?
Chris, its one thing to stand up for your rights, and its another to abuse the system and us taxpayers, period.
And I love how you still wont admit that the contraction in IB was MAINLY due to Burch’s imigration policy, and put it all on “global reasons”. This mentality is part of the reason why we find ourselves in the pickle we did last week..
Guess what, Chris, all 5000 of them will be out of a job if the government collapes due to debt. What part of the math don’t you understand? I suggest you spend some time with Larry Burchall so you can understand the dire circumstances the island faces.
I don’t see one suggestion on how to pay the debt in this article, just a lot of emotional buzzwords. As far as I can tell, you have nothing to offer.
Yes M. Famous, diversification is important. But I have more faith in the OBA supplying it than the PLP. Remember the previous Government’s efforts in this area? the Bollywood filming in Bermuda? How about offshore fishing? Did the PLP even talk to their own fisheries people about that? Or offshore mining? Offshore gambling? All talk. They had 14 years, nothing new happened.
And our current economic pillars need shoring up too. Once again, I have more faith in the OBA in this area. Remember the tourism we were supposed to get from a PLP government visit to China? Remember all the talk of new hotels? That all went up in a puff of smoke and mirrors. Remember the anti-international business comments which streamed from the PLP government? Remember the businesses that left, leaving fellow Bermudians without work in a shrinking economy? Once again, a disaster of the PLP’s making.
You’re right, AC35 won’t save us. But it will at least allow us a little grace period to develop economic diversification and to get the struggling traditional sectors on a surer footing.
Thanks to the state in which the PLP left us, some people are going to lose their jobs. The growth of the civil service was merely another PLP tool to cover the appalling shrinkage of the economy and attendant loss of jobs. You can’t sweep that * under the carpet forever. A lot of people have already immigrated. And a lot more will have to in the near future. THANKS PLP for making things SO BAD that Bermudians have to leave Bermuda!
@ Chis Famous
Yawn!
Not classs warfare Chris. Survival. Everyone that was sitting outside the Cabinet Office last week seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was the people they voted for that got them into this mess. That $20M on Port Royal and the $46M on Grand Atlantic represents A LOT of furlough days. So take your derisive comment and ask yourself how we got here in the first place and what part your votes over those 14 years played…You voted for and got financial incompetence.
** 5,000 Bermudians have children and families to support and were promised by this government that they would not lose their jobs.**
And they WONT loose their job if they all take furlough days.
No promises broken there , get it ?
There are probably over 3000 private sector workers that wish they had had the same choice and they too have families to support and bills to pay.
PS Airport operations and Aircraft registry are positive revenue generators for the Government. So exactly why would they be up on the auction block?
The airport operations make minimal profit with the most recent being less than $3mn a year.
If you want to upgrade the airport, as all political parties agree, then funding will have to be derived other than from the broke Government coffers.
There is no way that the $200mn (or $400mn initial PLP estimate) redevelopment can be achieved from taxpayer funds as the Government is broke.
I know that your Party has stated that they would set up an Airport Authority and allow them to set up their own financing. But how will an entity that records just about breakeven profits annually be able to procure the necessary financing on their own? Will the PLP allow for their airport authority to put up the land as collateral or will they simply say the airport authority’s debts are fully backed by the broke Government? So in the event that the loan is defaulted upon will the borrowers have a claim to the collateral or will the liabilities fall right on top of our mountain of debt as the the PLP’s hospital PPP financing will in the very near future? If you have the answer please provide, as these are genuine queries.
On top of that the proposed airport deal is not privatization as at the end of the agreed upon term the operations are handed back to the Government while during the whole arrangement the land and facilities remain firmly under the ownership of the Government.
Stop it OBA STRATEGIST…..I CAN GUESS who it it…
trying to decipher what you are saying about the tone from the following sentences. or am I to infer, or rely on innuendo? what was the tone?
“Not sure if any of you were at Cabinet last week however the tone and actions towards the workers by the OBA over the last few months.
Class warfare.
Read the blogs and see the tone directed towards the workers standing up for their rights.
Class warfare…”
Chris, why don’t you go and protest your party the PLP for pitting us in this mess?
My attention is locked on the poster with Craig Cannonier with the big title ‘An open letter to Bermuda’s civil servants’ in which was promised that no civil servant jobs would be lost. Quote from Mr. Cannonier:: ‘….Regardless of what you hear, there will be no civil service jobs cut. Period’. REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU HEAR. Then we get the OBA Govt letter to the BTUC on Jan 23rd 2015 threatening civil servant jobs in a massive way along with Public Reform waiting in the wings. Wow! I get dizzy trying to follow these lot I really do. Smh. OBA if you are smart, you want a way for the island to come together? Let’s finally bring on a bipartisan RAGE Commission now like SAGE that many have been asking for continuously. Why oh why isn’t this being done? Another frontier yet to be explored, instead of these less thought out knee jerk austerity cuts which does nothing but piss off the masses because there is no vision behind them. There is no plan.
Furloughs = no job losses.
What is so hard to understand?
Did they promise no furloughs or pay cuts. No.
Furloughs prevent job losses.
It takes years to set up a another economic pillar as it took decades to set up the prosperous IB sector.
Do you honestly think we can continue on for decades at this rate and hope some extra revenue is generated?
Our debt is now. Not tomorrow.
How many jobs have been cut so far?
“Even more importantly, this Bill would also grant the OBA the power to shift lucrative government departments from the public sector into the outstretched hands of the private sector aka “Friends and Family.”
“Lucrative?” Such scurrilous allegations I have never head.
Eagerly awaiting Chris “this Union is a business except when it isn’t” Furbert to chime in on this chestnut.
Exactly. If so lucrative why do the vast majority of these operations record massive losses each and every year that results in a $300mn deficit!
More Famous smoke & mirrors. It is clear to me that Mr. Famous emotional conjectures, wild assumptions, hearsay allegations and false dichotomies demonstrate his terrible fear that the “hated OBA” is now in the process of turning Bermuda’s economy around. Probably leaving his beloved PLP out of power for many years. IF he had any confidence in the PLP of the past and future, he would be stating MANY facts just like Mr. Burchall. Obviously he knows in his heart, that most facts associated with the PLP are simply disastrous.
Final thoughts
If these entities were not lucrative why are the OBA putting them up to be privatized?
Why are investors lining up to purchase Tynes Bay?
Who is looking at gaining the contract(s) for Highways/Public Parks/Trash collection?
Until next time..
Marinate on those questions.
They are not currently lucrative because of the overpaid employees who take excessive vacation and sick days. Private companies will be better equipped to appropriately manage these edeavors as buesinesses that can turn a profit.
I love how PLP MPs and supporters always ask these questions and then to be schooled on what the reality is? Why is every question from some folks a big conspiracy question?
Jeez.
Why assume they are being privatised, or that the OBA seeks to do this? That hasn’t been demonstrated in your article, it’s just been implied without much proof.
But for argument’s sake, let’s say these departments and sections are going to be privatised.
The case can just as easily be made that these entities would be targeted for privatisation because they are not only not lucrative, they are a drain on the public purse because the taxpayer is on the hook for their upkeep. In light of insufficient revenue, and given that this is unlikely to change either though policy or economig growth any time soon, the Government cannot afford to pay for these entities as things stand and is turning them (or parts of them) over to private or semi-private persons so those persons can take on the expense of running them.
With all the nasty comments and name calling thrown at civil servants these days by OBA supporters and vicious bloggers, they forget that not all civil servants support the union or the PLP for that matter. Many are OBA supporters who are being called lazy etc. These folks will eat their own.
I haven’t seen one post here that included the words lazy and civil servant.
@ Double D
That is hitting below the belt.
Many “CIVIL SERVANTS” and government workers are worth their weight in gold, it is insulting to refer to them as “LAZY”, where is your proof. have you ever been on the back of a garbage truck or worked at hazardous waste, guess not!
5000 marchers? Really?
The rights of the workers were violated when a mutual agreement on furlough days signed between Govt and the union 19 months ago which had an END DATE of March 31, 2015 was blatantly ignored and tossed aside to simply continue in a short sighted desperate measure with a dictatorship like flavour without the benefit of negotiating another agreement. See Govt letter dated Jan 23rd to the union.
@Famous
Here’s the thing..Americas Cup WILL save us. You don’t get it. It is diversification of our economy- thinking outside the box- to bring revenue to Bermuda- it is already putting Bdns to work and putting tens thousands into economy in school fees and rents thus causing rental market to boom again. Will put much more than Dr Brown’s PGA ever did for which we paid tens of millions over budget for. Name one Bdn who benefited from PGA.
ALSO-
All what you write is complete speculation, you say it as fact that civil service jobs will be lost, when none have been, and those areas are to be privatised. Well we dont know that yet so not sure where you get your info, or if you just throw it out and hope it sticks.
@famous –
Someone actually posted this to show SF made a loss on AC 2013. But what it also shows is AC 2013 did this:
A wrap-up economic impact study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute released in December found that the event, which stretched over roughly three months, generated at least $364 million in total economic impact. That figure rises to more than $550 million if the long-planned construction of a new cruise ship terminal, which the regatta served as a catalyst to finally get built, is factored in. – See more at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2014/02/10/americas-cup-new-figures-increase-loss-incurred-san-francisco/#sthash.Re7CUKzc.dpuf
You – the unions – and all other naysayers need to get on board and support this event for Bermuda’s sake, and stop trying to argue it won’t help Bermuda, that is just nonsensical
OBA exposed ! Leading the charge is the man stil looking out from under the hood , your finance minister Bob Richards , who is doing everything in his power to increase the Gap between the haves and the have nots .
Thanks Chris for shining a powerful torch on the OBA ‘s negative ways , if you know what I mean , make way for a positive day . Waking up , our we waking up now ?
You just quoted something that in binomial, there is no inbetween.
OBA are working for Bermuda, not their own pockets. what is the PLP in it for?
The PLP is in it to lose.
And when are you all going to take on the banks and local insurance companies ?