@Carol_Hill - this is not just an issue with public servant pay in the BVI. A friend of mine in the St. Maarten Police was telling me about officers now under IA investigation because they got caught doing illegal activities (bribes) - because their back-pay raises for the past 2 years haven't been paid out and they couldn't afford to feed their families or pay the rent. I'm sure that the BVI firefighters and Customs officials are in a similar situation and they see no alternative but to force the powers-that-be to react. I believe that the government, and not the strikers, are the root cause here.