“Bermuda Hospitals Board is forever grateful that our healthcare staff kept working throughout the pandemic. They step up whenever the country needs them, during times of national disasters and personal emergencies that beset all of our families from time to time. The costs of living have been rising and staff frustration at their level of pay is evident.
“This is keenly felt by our BPSU staff, who include the nurses, doctors, allied health and non-executive administrative staff. BPSU staff have not had a cost-of-living increase since 2018. Negotiations for the period 2022 onwards are open.
“The BIU had one 3.75% increase for the 2023-2024 year to offset concessions graciously granted to the BHB during the pandemic. Negotiations for the CBA 2024-2025 year are close to completion.
“BHB has been and remains in discussions with government over the revenue requirements to fund a much-needed wage uplift for all our staff.
“Our financial pressures have increased over the years. The fixed funding model introduced in 2019 has meant BHB’s revenues have been eroded due to the increased cost of doing business with local vendors and global increases in costs of medical supplies and equipment. BHB has only managed to keep running through major internal savings campaigns, Government concessions, exhausting cash balances and the use of an overdraft.
“The implementation of the fixed funding model in 2019 resulted in 97% of our revenue for BHB being sourced via the Mutual Reinsurance Fund transfer, Government grant and patient subsidy programmes.
“Government is sympathetic to our financial issues and understands an uplift in staff salaries requires an uplift in revenue for BHB. BPSU salaries constitute 72% of our payroll expenses, therefore BHB has not been in a position to enter into good-faith negotiations with the BPSU until a salary uplift was accommodated in our budget.
We do not know what our renumeration for the 2026 fiscal year is yet, as the national budget has not been shared. Once there is certainty with respect to the hospital budget, negotiations with the BPSU will proceed expeditiously.”
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