Hospitals & Bermuda Industrial Union Reach Salary Accord

In a joint press statement Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) announce that they have successfully negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on behalf of the trade and auxiliary staff at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

The agreement will be formally signed on Thursday, 25 May, at a ceremony scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. at the BIU building on Union Street. Attending, in addition to the negotiation teams, are Mr. Anthony Richardson, Chairman of BHB, Mrs. Venetta Symonds, Acting Chief Executive Officer of BHB and Mr. Chris Furbert, President of the BIU.

The new agreement covers the period between October 5, 2005 and October 4, 2007. There will be favourable increases in wages for all employees covered by the agreement. BIU employees with over 10 years of continuous employment will reap the benefits of their dedicated service through substantial increases to their sick leave entitlements. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement also reflected the ripple effect of increased market prices for construction and tradesmen through a major upgrade of wages for the tradesmen charged with keeping the Hospitals running.

Mr. R. Scott Pearman, Director of Human Resources and Chief Negotiator for BHB stated, “We continue to build on our good relationship with the BIU, as evidenced by our reaching a mutually satisfactory resolution of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This recent agreement gave us the opportunity to enhance the sick leave entitlements for our senior employees. Also approved, were increases to the wages of our tradesmen. This will enable us to be more competitive in recruiting scarce talent in that specific industry segment.”

Ms. Molly Burgess General Secretary and Chief Negotiator for the BIU said, “We are pleased to have successfully concluded this agreement. It represents a win – not just for the BIU and the BHB – but ultimately for our members.”

Mrs. Venetta Symonds, Acting CEO for BHB said, “BIU members of our staff constitute a key stakeholder group in the delivery of care to our clients. Thus, our commitment to ensuring the primary employment needs of our staff have been satisfied is important to maintaining an engaged and committed workforce. BHB has made major direct investments in its employees over the course of the past year and this agreement demonstrates that all categories of employees reap the benefits of our strategic retention initiatives.”

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