NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU) says public school administrators will continue to take industrial action until the Ministry of Education honours its industrial agreement with the union.
BEMU president, Stephen McPhee, said the ministry is involved in stalling tactics, “honing in on things that really have very little to do with what has driven us to this point where we’ve withdrawn.
“For example, they’re trying to make it appear that one of the reasons is that … clothing allowance. That’s not it.”
On Monday, an estimated 500 BEMU members did not report to work, with union members claiming that the ministry failed to live up to commitments outlined in an industrial agreement signed between the union and the government in 2022.
Some of the outstanding issues included the denial of benefits and exceptional promotions.
In 2022, BEMU officials signed an industrial agreement with the government that included pay increases, healthcare coverage, and other benefits.
The agreement expired in July 2025, and the BEMU stated that the government has yet to honor the contract’s terms.
The ministry has acknowledged the union’s withdrawal of labour, adding, “We believe in fairness, ensuring that officers receive what is due to them.
“We believe in transparency, providing clear timelines and updates on the issues raised,” the ministry said, noting that the clothing allowance and transportation allowances owed to officers will be paid by early September.
The ministry stated that outstanding reassignments were completed on August 25, 2025, and that confirmation for 37 officers remains under review.
“The promotion exercise continues and will be concluded without delay,” the ministry said.
However, the BEMU stated that the ministry is misleading the public, and that an estimated 70 union members have been selected for reassignment. A number of those members remain uncertain about their relocation, despite schools reopening on Monday.
McPhee stated that when union members posed questions to the ministry regarding imminent deployments during a meeting held on Sunday, education officials were unable to provide answers, telling members that they would have to follow up with them.
“We keep asking them, ‘How could you wait two weeks before school opened to tell a principal, a vice principal, a senior master, mistress, here is where we’re going to move you?’
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