A union leader expressed his confidence that a move to use health insurance rebates to ease the cost of living crisis will come to fruition.

The Bermuda Trade Union Congress lined up three public meetings this week to present its case using data that underlines substantial rises in everyday costs for residents, from food purchases to rent.

The BTUC raised the issue last month, saying that “the time has come for Bermuda to take actions” as more residents struggled to afford a reasonable quality of life and saw a decline in their disposable income.

Chris Furbert, president of Bermuda Industrial Union, told the audience of his hopes at the first meeting on Tuesday at Penno’s Wharf in St George’s.

He insisted the union is proposing a two-year health insurance rebate offering a 50 per cent rebate for the 2027 calendar year and 100 per cent rebate for 2028.

He said: “People would pay a premium for 2027, and in January 2028 the rebate would be passed on to the employee and the employer.

“Say it was $10,000, then the employee would receive a rebate of $5,000 and the employer would receive a rebate of $5,000.”

Asked if he was confident of pushing this measure through, Mr Furbert replied: “Absolutely. Yes, I am confident.”

A slide show disclosed the soaring cost of living, highlighting that it had been on the table in Bermuda for more than five decades.

The Department of Statistics details revealed a sharp rise over that period with the consumer price index items against household expenditure including figures up to 2013.

Mr Furbert told the gathering: “The figures show that 72 house hold items have risen by 380 per cent.”

The unions are also calling for the Government to divert $1.2 billion of corporate income tax revenues to help residents combat the high cost of living.

The meeting was thrown open to questions, with one woman describing her struggle to pay her mortgage.

After Mr Furbert highlighted the health insurance rebate, she insisted he had not answered her question.

However, Toni Robinson, vice-president of the entertainment union, responded: “This is the first step.

“We are all aware Bermuda has an ageing population. The number of seniors is increasing and healthcare cost is definitely a concern.

“I get your concern concerning rent and housing and I am sure there are other individuals concerned too. I feel like this is just the first step; this is the starting point.

“We are starting with healthcare. We are looking for a break for everybody but, yes, we do care and I will be speaking to other union heads.”

The unions have proposed the Government provide the Health Insurance Plan, or HIP, and FutureCare insurance plan free of charge, to end the need to pay premiums as early as this coming April.

Earlier, Mr Furbert stated: “We’ve been having this conversation about Bermuda’s high cost of living for too long, and it is time for us to really do something about it.”

Meanwhile, the meetings are deemed so important that the unions are laying on transport for anyone who needs it.

The second is tonight at Dalton E Tucker Primary School, Southampton from 6.30pm until 8.30pm, while the final meeting is at the same time tomorrow at St Paul AME Church, Hamilton.