BNA nurses ‘won’t join’ UWU in strike

The representative body for just under half of the island’s public nurses has blanked the planned strike by colleagues represented by the Unity Workers Union (UWU) led by Opposition Senator Caswell Franklin.

The Barbados Nurses Association (BNA), which represents more than 500 of the over 1,200 active nurses in the public health system declared on Thursday it wants nothing to do with any such industrial action which would come at the height of the COVID-19 crisis here with record levels of infections and deaths.

“We are not going to be supporting any striking,” BNA president Valerie Francis-Miller stated while suggesting the kinds of options which should instead be resorted to.

On Wednesday, Senator Franklyn, UWU General Secretary told Barbados TODAY his members – the minority of public nurses – would be staying home if Government went ahead and implemented mandatory either nasal swabbing or vaccination of healthcare providers.

“The nurses are adamant that they don’t want that thing pushing up in their nose once a week,” Senator Franklin declared.”It is dangerous and unnecessary. Some of the nurses have complained of nose bleeds. They see this swabbing as a way of trying to coerce those who are not vaccinated into getting vaccinated.”

He argued that vaccination did not stop anybody from getting COVID or even from spreading it. “It doesn’t work,” he declared in a statement that put him at odds with health authorities and medical experts globally and in Barbados.

“So the best thing for them [healthcare workers] to do is to wear their protective gear and face masks,” Senator Franklyn suggested.

But the BNA president is adamant that a strike is not the way to go to resolve issues in the national health service, particularly at this time when the coronavirus was decimating lives and livelihoods and there is need for as many care providers as possible.

She told Barbados TODAY: “Have some sit-downs with partners and say what the concerns are and have a positive way forward…and that is not to influence or compromise patient care. As nurses, we have a duty of care.

“Internationally, striking action is done differently for nurses and the action of all nurses coming out and abandoning patients… that is not BNA’s nursing nature.”

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), which represents most of the other nurses along with all other categories of healthcare employees across the board, is to have an internal meeting shortly to discuss issues related to the safe zones,

As a result, Acting General Secretary Richard Greene said he could not take any position on behalf of the NUPW at this time on the proposed industrial action by Senator Franklyn’s union.

“I can’t give you any position on that yet because my council has not met on it,” Greene told Barbados TODAY. “We were supposed to meet on it, but the meeting got postponed, so I can’t give you any position.”

Asked if the union had complaints similar to those of the UWU regarding swabbing and vaccination, he replied: “We had concerns, but complaints. Don’t forget that when the safe zones were gazetted, nobody knew; people heard about it and then people started whispering and asking what was going on…this thing in place and we didn’t have any consultation.

“Since then, we met with representative groups who looked at the safe zones and gave us their concerns and even gave some recommendations which we have forwarded to the Acting Attorney General. Yes, we have concerns.

“But in terms of a position as to whether we oppose it [proposed strike action] or whether we agree with it? We don’t have that yet.”

Barbados TODAY also reached out to the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Association of Barbados (CTUSAB) – the umbrella organization for trade unions here – which distanced itself from the position taken by Senator Franklyn’s union.

General Secretary Dennis DePeiza said no type of industrial action has been placed on the table by any of its member unions of which the UWU is not a part.

He told Barbados TODAY: “I cannot even react to Mr Caswell’s point-of-view, assertions or any intentions on the part of him and his members,” DePeiza said while noting that CTUSAB represents nurses who are part of the NUPW, the Barbados Nurses Association, Nurses Assistants Aids Association of Barbados and the medical fraternity.

“As far as I know, the congress has no position as far as strike action is concerned. We have had no discussion about any measures of such proportions; so it would be unfair of me to make a comment on behalf of my membership when that discussion has never ever been put on the table.

“Mr Caswell and his organization are free to speak to their own position and I would not want to, in any way, be associated with it at this time.”

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb