Commission will meet with union ‘rank and file’
The SAGE Commission intends to hold meetings with rank and file public sector workers before writing their final report.Bermuda Industrial Union President Chris Furbert told a press conference yesterday that his union was concerned that SAGE had held no meetings with its rank and file members.“They have not talked to the people they really need to talk to — and that’s the rank and file members of the BIU or some of the rank and file members of the Bermuda Public Services Union,” Mr Furbert said.“We’ve told our members that if they come and have a conversation with you, whether its at the postal level or the Works & Engineering level down at the Government quarry, that you tell them what the management team has been doing for the past four and five years.“Because when they write their final report for the Government we want to make sure they have spoken to all the stakeholders.“And my understanding to date is that the SAGE Commission has not spoken to the rank and file of the BIU which is a serious indictment of their interim report they have here.”Asked to respond, a SAGE Commission spokeswoman said:“The SAGE Commission has met once with senior members of the BIU team and we have tried to schedule another meeting.“The Commission’s planned schedule of meetings includes the rank and file as it’s important that their voices are fully represented in the final report submitted to Government.“We’ve also been following a protocol with our interviews, starting with members of the Cabinet, the OBA and PLP Caucus, union leaders and then civil service management prior to rank and file union members.“We have had two positive meetings with the senior members of the BPSU and during those meetings, advised them that we plan on meeting with their rank and file members as well.”