Protest without merit

Given the problems patients have in getting drugs, there never can be a good time for such protests. But, with the recent case of the Mount Hope pharmacists who refused to make intravenous food for premature babies, the public certainly isn’t going to be sympathetic to the members of that profession. This is even more so since a group of pharmacists from the North West Regional Health Authority has recently tried to defend this indefensible action as a "principled stand" taken because of "scant respect" for pharmacists’ working conditions.

Now the country’s pharmacists are quickly solidifying that nascent reputation for selfishness with their latest protest. Already they have vowed not to work with the Filipinos. But what is the real basis of their objections? Health Minister John Rahael has stated that the Filipino pharmacists will not be receiving a higher salary than their Trinidadian counterparts. So that plank has fallen from beneath the local pharmacists’ feet. There is also a shortage of pharmacists at public health institutions, which means that the Filipinos will not be taking jobs from anyone.

Yet, even if they were, it is not axiomatic that this would be a valid reason to not bring them in. As the Mount Hope pharmacists demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt, an ethical commitment is lacking among certain members of the profession. A responsible Government has to replace persons who fail to meet their responsibility for the nation’s health. Lest we forget, health is a public good. Along with education, it is an area that a Government must invest in so that citizens can be productive. However, the Government has consistently been unable to create efficient systems in the health sector. This has been one factor which has caused an exodus of doctors and nurses, as well as pharmacists, from public institutions. The importation of Cuban doctors and nurses, and now Filipino pharmacists, has been taken in response to this shortage.

The persons who have had a problem with this strategy are local doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. But we have yet to hear a complaint from patients, and it is their voices which really matter. The pharmacists’ protest comes in the midst of negotiations for a new collective agreement, and this is the crux of their objections to the Filipinos. After all, if the supply of pharmacists is adequate, then the demands being made by local pharmacists carry less force. In other words, the local pharmacists are putting their own needs before that of the patients.

This is par for the course in any wage negotiation, no matter what the group. But the Government cannot be concerned only with a particular group’s needs. The Government must also pay attention to the overall economy, and experience suggests that labour market flexibility, as exemplified by the importation of health care professionals from other countries, generally leads to lower rates of unemployment and higher GDP per head. More importantly in this situation, however, is the health of citizens who cannot afford private health care and drugs. If the Filipinos’ presence helps improve the situation where patients have been waiting for months for drugs, then local pharmacists should welcome them with open arms.