New Industrial Agreement for University of The Bahamas Faculty Members

20^th May 2024

Nassau, THE BAHAMAS – Faculty members at University of The Bahamas (UB) have secured a new industrial agreement outlining their terms and conditions of employment, as they operate in a shared vision for the institution’s new era of growth of development.

Representatives of the Union of Tertiary Educators of The Bahamas (UTEB) and UB’s senior administration formalized the collective bargaining agreement on Friday 17^th May 2024, which spans 2022 to 2027. The signing ceremony took place in the RBC Auditorium of the Franklyn R. Wilson Graduate Centre in the presence of UB faculty and other UTEB members.

“It brings to all of us a climate of stability, confidence, resilience, and determination because this is the year we are also doing something else that’s very important in our story…accreditation,” said UB President (Acting) Janyne Hodder.

President Janyne highlighted the university’s progress in accreditation readiness, noting an improvement from 19% in December to 65% currently, largely due to the efforts of the faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi. She emphasized the crucial role of faculty in sustaining a robust scholarly environment and fostering a positive culture that aligns with the university’s mission.

“When we’re trying to do things over the coming months and years that are really tied to making ourselves better, it’s really, really a great joy to feel that we are doing this together and that this is done with the faculty and not to the faculty. We will commit to continue doing this in that manner,” President Janyne added.

UTEB President Daniel Thompson, who also serves as Chair of the School of Business at UB, praised the spirit of collaboration that characterized the negotiations, which concluded in just two months.

“What you see here today represents an example of what trade unionism ought to be about, where we work collaboratively with industry and our partners, because the success of the university is our success and vice versa. Once your workers are satisfied and excited about work, the institution is guaranteed to succeed so that is an important lesson you see here,” Thompson said.

UB’s faculty have already been receiving outstanding increments under the new agreement since December 2023. Additional sums are forthcoming during the summer and December of this year. Other benefits relate to allowing specified political leave, and a restructuring of the salary scales with additional increments. These efforts will support the institution’s readiness for a culture of continuous improvements.

“There is collegiality, there is camaraderie as we work through this very difficult process. All of that has to do with good labour relations, and we want to maintain it,” Thompson added.

Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs Dr. Maria Woodside-Oriakhi spoke about the strengthened terms and conditions of employment that extend beyond remuneration.

“For instance, we talked about teaching duties of faculty and we made sure and clarified how many hours faculty are to work. We looked at terms such as online teaching, making it equivalent and how those are going to operate in the university setting. We talked about how we are going to delve into promotions and made sure that they align with best practices of universities around the world as we are going towards accreditation,” she explained.

Both sides extended their gratitude to the members of their negotiating teams for their steadfast work, underscoring the collective effort required to reach this agreement.

END

For streaming video of the signing ceremony, click here.

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University of The Bahamas
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Phone: 242.302.4454/242.302.4365
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University of The Bahamas stands as a proud beacon of national transformation. With an illustrious legacy spanning 50 years, the institution has cultivated a rich tapestry of academic diversity, impactful research engagements, and transformative collaborations. UB has in excess of 22,000 alumni, more than 4,000 students, with locations in New Providence, Grand Bahama and San Salvador. Our students are shaped as not merely scholars, but as dynamic global citizens able to navigate the challenges of a global society.