NWRHA workers score a victory

Lab technicians, enrolled nursing assistants, clerical staff and other staff support workers of Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) scored a victory yesterday when the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) agreed to issue letters of permanent employment by March 28 to all workers with more than two years service as of December 31, 2002.

The NWHRA agreed to withdraw a circular issued on February 17 instructing those who stayed away from work last Wednesday and Thursday to apply for the days or have them deducted from their salaries. It also gave a commitment to work toward payment of outstanding arrears of increments to affected workers. The task will be undertaken by a project team comprising members of the Human Resource and Finance Division and representatives of the Public Services Association (PSA)—which is representing workers. The exercise will begin Ash Wednesday with the aim of completion by March 28 and payments made April 30. The agreement was reached after approximately 150 workers on two occasions bypassed security and went to the executive floor at Building 39, EWMSC demanding that industrial relations going on for years be settled. Outside the building, they clapped and sang “we want we money.”

A meeting at 8 am between the union, led by PSA Vice-President Stephen Thomas, and NWRHA Acting Chief Executive Officer Karin Pierre and Vice President of Human Resource Ken Mahabir failed to convince the union the RHA was serious about addressing workers’ concerns. Thomas left for a meeting with the Chief Personnel Officer in Port-of-Spain but was called back to Mt Hope by Pierre. At the second meeting which took place at 10 am, he received a signed letter with the NWRHA proposals for resolving the industrial relations issues raised by the PSA. He subsequently addressed workers at the main entrance of EWMSC about the outcome. Responding to concerns about the NWHRA reneging on the latest agreement, Thomas said the involvement of PSA officers in the Project Team will ensure that it is monitored and honoured. “Workers have lost all confidence in administration and lost all trust in commitments given,” he said.

The PSA expects the NWRHA to start issuing letters of permanent employment during next month and not wait until the end of the month. Parity will be addressed when the payment of increments take place. He said workers can expect to have all their arrears included in their April salaries. “We want to ensure that the quantification exercise is done properly,” Thomas said. Asked if the Health Minister can override the agreement reached, he said the NWRHA will use its own funds to pay workers. As a mark of “good faith” they returned to their posts yesterday, but in the time they had been absent, the radiology department had been shut down and clinics, pharmacy, lab service, customer service were also adversely affected.   In a media release the NWRHA advised that only emergency cases will be seen at the Paediatric Priority Care Facility as service was compromised due to industrial action by members of staff. It said non-emergency cases should go to Primary Health Care Institutions or private facilities until further notice. The NWRHA apologised for the inconvenience.