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Customs officers in the Bahamas took to the streets this week to voice frustration over what they characterize as a deliberate policy of stalling their careers. According to The Tribune, the officers demonstrated outside the Bahamas Customs Department, arguing that management has repeatedly chosen to rehire retired colleagues for senior positions rather than promote experienced serving staff.
The union representing the officers has identified 15 retired workers who have been brought back to the department, with 13 still employed in roles ranging from deputy comptroller to superintendent. Superintendent Livingstone Ferguson, a 38-year veteran with multiple degrees including a master’s in finance and a law degree in progress, expressed the officers’ sense of exclusion. "We are somewhat disappointed in management that they thought that we are not worthy to advance within the organisation," Ferguson told The Tribune. He and his colleagues argue they possess the qualifications and experience to fill these roles themselves.
The practice has created what officers describe as a cascading blockage throughout the department’s hierarchy. Ferguson explained that if senior positions remain occupied by rehired retirees, superintendents cannot advance to assistant comptroller roles, and officers below them face the same stalled progression. Chief Customs Officer Alma Poitier-Sands, with over 30 years of service, emphasized that every officer deserved an opportunity to lead. Some serving staff have even been stripped of duties to make room for returning retirees, according to officer Winifred Lynden, who herself was recently passed over for promotion.
The dispute has deeper legal roots. In 2024, the union warned it might pursue court action over the government’s practice of rehiring retired public servants on contract, pointing to a 2021 Supreme Court victory that found the government had unlawfully appointed Immigration officers in similar fashion. Comptroller Ralph Munroe has previously defended the rehiring practice, citing the value of experienced officers’ knowledge. However, union president Deron Brooks told The Tribune that while some promotions have been issued, they remain inadequate and arrive too slowly.
Bahamas Trades Union Congress president Obie Ferguson backed the officers, warning that public servants should not be bypassed for advancement in favor of political appointees. He stressed that procedures governing public service appointments must follow the law, citing court decisions from Jamaica, Barbados, and St Lucia as precedent. Ferguson urged the officers to seek broader union support, suggesting the issue could affect workers across other government departments.
The rehiring of retired public servants in the Bahamas has been a recurring point of contention between unions and government management. A 2021 Supreme Court ruling, secured by the union, determined that the government had unlawfully appointed Immigration officers on contract. The practice persists despite this precedent, with Comptroller Munroe arguing that rehired officers bring valuable institutional knowledge and experience to their roles.
This dispute reflects a broader Caribbean pattern of public sector management practices that unions argue undermine merit-based advancement and worker rights. The case has drawn attention from regional labor movements, with union leaders citing similar court victories in Jamaica, Barbados, and St Lucia, suggesting Bahamian workers deserve equivalent legal protections. The outcome may influence how other Caribbean governments approach rehiring and promotion policies.
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