I had the pleasure yesterday of meeting with President Kyle Wilson and executives of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) and President Christopher Hanna and executives of the Bahamas Electrical Utility Managerial Union (BEMU), along with Obie Ferguson, the President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
I was grateful for the opportunity to assure them that as our government works to bring much-needed change to our energy sector, there will be no layoff of workers at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), industrial agreements will continue to be honoured, and that commitments made to workers, including pension benefits, will be met.
In fact, a critical element of our plans includes the training and upskilling of many of our specialized line staff at BPL. Modernizing our electricity infrastructure is necessary to meet the goals of energy reform: lowering costs for families and businesses, increasing reliability, and using cleaner sources of energy. Investing in our BPL workers will mean they are well-positioned to thrive in this evolving energy landscape.
As we move forward together, we are grateful to the leaders and workers of BEWU and BEMU for their expertise, hard work, and dedication. We are committed to consulting closely with them and with other stakeholders as we work toward a brighter energy future.