Nurses appear set to step up action

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.

But the action has been rejected by the country’s main public sector trade union, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), whose acting General Secretary Wayne Waldron has vowed to steer clear of reckless behaviour that could destabilize the country. Instead, he pledged to continue talks with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which in his opinion is moving in the right direction.

The sickout coincides with the arrival of 100,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is to be administered by public health nurses at polyclinics nationwide. It also comes in the midst of a mass testing exercise known as the Seek and Save initiative.

Efforts to reach Public Health Nurse and Senior Health Sister at the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic Rosanette Cooke to find out the extent of the sickout and the potential impact of sustained industrial action were unsuccessful.

In early January, health officials met with the NUPW and nurses after work stoppages at numerous polyclinics. They also invited proposals for hazard pay from trade unions.

But in a Barbados TODAY interview, Senator Franklyn argued that the NUPW’s proposals are unnecessary given that nurses at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital are already benefiting from an existing hazard pay arrangement.

He declared: “Cuddear, you already know how much hazard pay you are going to pay because you have already identified an amount for [QEH] nurses. So what proposal do you want? This is just another delaying tactic and nurses are tired of it.

“The nurses have issues going back years and all they are being told is ‘we’re in discussions’ over and over again and nothing seems to be happening for them. Hazard pay and this COVID-19 situation is just the final straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Senator Franklyn, whose union represents 161 nurses, denies the industrial action was deliberately timed to obstruct the vaccinations, but warned the length and intensity of the action depends on the Government.

He told Barbados TODAY: “If the Government wants to put [the vaccination effort] on hold, they can, but it is not because of the nurses. It would be because the government is stubborn and they don’t want to listen to anybody.

“Nurses have been working too hard and for too long in unsafe conditions, but COVID-19 has made it worse because these unsafe conditions are now deadly.

“This industrial action is intended only to get the Government to pay attention to the nurses and to fulfil their responsibility to the nurses that they have not done over the years,”

The trade unionist who is also an Opposition senator added that although adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is said to be in stock, nurses say it is not being made available and as a result, they fear for their lives.

He said: “People are coming into the clinics and you don’t know if they are COVID-positive or negative.  When you treat this person and they are COVID-positive, what are you going to do? They have to treat all people as though they are COVID-19 positive until you can prove otherwise. [The nurses] have to treat them, but [they] need to be able to protect [themselves] in those circumstances, and you can’t protect yourself if they don’t give you the equipment to do it.”

When contacted, the NUPW General Secretary revealed he was aware of the ongoing action, but distanced the union from the “reckless behaviour” and “populist agendas” being exhibited in some places. He added that talks have been progressing with the Ministry of Health and negotiations would soon commence regarding the payment of hazard pay.

Waldron told Barbados TODAY: “As far as I am concerned the NUPW’s conscience is clear, the union has been responsible, it has done what it has to do on behalf of workers, and we will continue to be responsible. We are not going to be reckless and have a populist agenda. This is not merely about membership and getting members to sign up, this is about being responsible, guiding the industrial relations process and being honest with workers.

“The NUPW is not here to play on the emotions of workers… This is about guiding the process in a manner that it is orderly. Any deviation from the established practices of managing and guiding industrial relations and providing leadership for workers will end up in anarchy.” (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)