Bermuda faces “economic suicide” if the cuts proposed by the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission are to be implemented, according to one of the Island’s main unions.

The Bermuda Public Services Union (BPSU) tonight issued a rebuttal to the SAGE report, in which the suggested privatisation of Government departments topped the list of concerns.

Calling public services “essential to the quality of life of the residents of Bermuda”, the BPSU said it “will not and cannot accept that the wholesale distribution of public services to the private sector is a necessity”.

BPSU president Kevin Grant said the privatisation proposed by SAGE would affect 17 departments and 1,700 workers — which has set off “alarm bells”.

The BPSU statement said: “The philosophy that the public sector is inefficient and that the private sector, using a more business acumen, is better suited to deliver, is a concept that is shared by many worldwide.

“The belief that the benefits of privatisation will have a trickledown effect has been proven wrong time and time again in a number of jurisdictions.”

The union called on SAGE to specifically identify areas of “duplication, waste and inefficiency within Government” — fearing that the lack of detail could leave the Finance Minister “no other option but to implement thoughtless, archaic, across-the-board cuts”.

Acknowledging problems with the Public Service Superannuation Fund, the BPSU said correcting civil service pensions would take effort from both Government and the unions.

“The underfunded liability of approximately $973 million combined with Government’s current financial position is of grave concern,” the BPSU said.

The union added that a hybrid pension plan for the current Defined Benefit plan — incorporating elements of the Defined Contribution plan — would be better than a “complete move from a DB plan to a DC plan”.

And it called for a Strategic Plan to define the country’s course moving forward.

The BPSU opened the statement with a recognition of Bermuda’s financial difficulties, and called for “a new culture that garners trust and fosters true collaboration with public service workers”.

“The BPSU understands the fiscal stress that the Government currently faces as a result of their expenditures continually exceeding their collected revenues. We recognise that this trend, if continued, will have a detrimental effect on Government’s ability to operate and pay its debts. We realise that the time to act is now.”