EHS WORKERS PROTEST

GMRTT is a joint venture comprising Amalgamated Security Services Ltd and Global Medical Response, a subsidiary of American Medical Response. Their management contract is for three years. The workers have been instructed to go to work by their union, the Public Services Association of TT, and detail their arrival and departure.

Several EHS workers went to Whitehall after 3 pm yesterday to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Patrick Manning. This is the result of a meeting between some members of staff and Manning at his constituency office on Thursday. The PM asked them to detail their issues in writing.

In August, workers complained to Newsday about the loss of job security because they were notified via letter that they had to reapply for their jobs. They also said the terms of the contract from GMRTT require them to work longer hours for less pay. Yesterday, the workers reported that 96 of 289 workers were rehired. A new roster has also been prepared. "This means the rest are unemployed, effective from today," said Noel Johnson, a team leader with the EHSTT. He said the ambulances which have also gone over to the GMRTT belong to the State and a private company should not profit off of them at the expense of employees. Commenting on the issue over a month ago, Health Minister John Rahael had said the majority of workers would be hired.

"GMRTT said they will process further applications in the next two weeks. None of us can go to the bank with that," Johnson said. Workers were told not to report for duty until they were called to sign a contract. He criticised the manner in which people were hired and claimed that preferential hiring was taking place.

Apart from hours of work being increased from 168 to 216 and 224 hours (they must work 224 hours before getting overtime), they are also being paid at an hourly rate rather than a flat salary. Workers hired will be on six months probation. The company has instructed workers that maternity leave was limited to two pregnancies in every four consecutive years. The training department has been closed and Newsday was told by another worker that Emergency Medical Technicians have to pay for their own recertification.

Team leader Eric Small said a meeting took place with Permanent Secretary, Reynold Cooper, who said the management contract the ministry was signing with GMRTT was very similar to the contract the SWRHA had. Small said an assurance was given that every member of staff would go across to GMRTT and salaries would be increased on October 30.

Small said when employees went to the GMRTT office on Thursday, they were told that workers who had not signed contracts by 8 pm were out of work, and applications not submitted before September 17 would "not be eligible for preferential hiring."

Some of them have been with the EHS since its inception five years ago and when it was transferred to the SWRHA in 2003 from the management of the Latin American branch of the Canadian company Tristar.