Hamza warns of new health troubles

SHOULD the Regional Health Authorities (RHA) Act 1994 be amended while negotiations between the RHAs and senior doctors are ongoing? If those talks are aborted this could stir up new trouble in the health sector, warned former Health Minister, Dr Hamza Rafeeq yesterday. The RHA Amendment Bill 2004 (which is designed to amend the RHA Act 1994) was piloted in the House of Representatives by Health Minister John Rahael on March 5 and passed on the same day. 

Rahael explained that the Bill’s purpose is to allow the transfer of workers from the Public Service and put them on the same footing with their colleagues in the RHAs. He noted that out of 9,000 health sector employees, 5,000 are still to transfer to the RHAs. Rafeeq claimed that Government was using the Bill to settle old scores with doctors who are members of the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT), force the Public Services Association (PSA) on the doctors and  ensure that MPATT is a “stillborn union.”  Rahael and PSA president Jennifer Baptiste-Primus have since dismissed Rafeeq’s allegations. The Minister said under the new RHA Act, any group which wanted to challenge the PSA for the right to represent any group of workers is free to do so.

Rafeeq also warned that if the Bill is passed in both Houses of Parliament and assented to by President George Maxwell Richards, the doctors would take the Government to court. Rafeeq repeated that warning yesterday, noting that negotiations between the Joint Negotiating Team of the RHAs and senior doctors are still ongoing. He expressed concern that Government could pass the Bill in the Senate and send it to the President for approval while the talks are continuing.

Rafeeq said if this should happen “they will have to abort and then begin again” because the PSA would have bargaining power for the doctors. The RHA Bill is not listed for debate at the next sitting of the Senate on April 20 and parliamentary sources could not say when it would be debated in the Upper House. Negotiations between the JNT and senior doctors began on March 22 at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) but a second meeting carded for April 5 at the same venue was aborted because of an alleged bomb scare at the EWMSC. Despite this setback and no word yet of  when next they would meet, both MPATT acting president Dr Lakhan Roop and JNT chairman Imitiaz Ahamad were optimistic that the negotiations would be concluded successfully.