Scheme going after change in status
Article by March 4, 2021
The board of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is making moves to become a statutory body.
This was revealed by chairman of the NIS board, Queen’s Counsel Leslie Haynes, who said the board had already submitted its request to the Ministry of Finance and was awaiting a decision.
“The NIS board is a unique board. It is the only board of a department of Central Government, so that it is in a strange position that you have a board which sets policy yet the staff essentially reports directly to the Ministry of Finance. This COVID has made us realize that in order to better improve efficiencies at the NIS, the board resolved that we should transition to a statutory body,” Haynes said during a press conference tonight.
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Union wants nurses’ issues addressed
Article by February 13, 2021
Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Wayne Walrond has come out in staunch defense of public sector nurses subjected to discrepancies in the system which are preventing them from being appointed and keeping others sidelined, while imported nurses take up jobs here.
Speaking on
Starcom Network’s Down-to-Brass-Tacks radio programme, Walrond echoed sentiments expressed by his contemporary in the Unity Workers’ Union Senator Caswell Franklyn who is threatening industrial action over long-standing grievances.
The latest issues include inadequate COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and disputes over hazard pay proposals.
Nurses appear set to step up action
Article by February 10, 2021
The first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive could very well begin without the help of polyclinic nurses who on Tuesday called in sick and may stay away from work in the coming days, with the senator who leads scores of them as a trade unionist and the nation’s largest public sector union at odds over the move.
General Secretary of the Unity Workers’ Union, Senator Caswell Franklyn, confirmed a sickout across polyclinics was “just the beginning” of action that would be escalated if authorities continue to delay providing hazard pay and protective equipment for the nurses.
Nurses want their wages adjusted in line with their duties
Article by February 4, 2021
Frustration appears to be growing among a handful of nurses at the Psychiatric Hospital. They claim that for years, they are being paid on a scale below their level of qualifications.
The situation is particularly infuriating as the healthcare workers witness others secure their monies and as their colleagues from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) receive additional payments for their work in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psychiatric Hospital Director David Leacock acknowledged some of the institution’s public health workers are still waiting on appointments. He, however, noted that Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic addressed the issues in a recent staff meeting. The hospital chief argued that it “seems a bit malicious” for affected nurses to bring it into the public domain.