Opposition urged to speak out against nurses’ strike

The ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is urging its political opponents to speak up against the ongoing strike action by nurses who are represented by the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU).

BLP General Secretary Dr Jerome Walcott has more specifically called on Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley to intervene by speaking to opposition-appointed Senator Caswell Franklyn, who leads the UWU.

His call came on Thursday, one day after Prime Minister Mia Mottley chastised Franklyn for sanctioning strike action by nurses who have been off the job for more than a week, even as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic. She also declared that the health workers’ pay would be docked, in accordance with the Code of Conduct and Ethics in the Public Service Act, for as long as they were on strike.

“Lives are literally being put at risk, and putting the lives of ordinary Barbadians citizens who depend on all of us to maintain a stable and well-functioned healthcare system, on a platform of personal and political idolism, is utterly unacceptable, and distinctly un-Barbadian,” Dr Walcott said.

“The Barbados Labour Party is therefore moved to call on Bishop Atherley, as we are indeed calling on the current President of the Democratic Labour Party Verla DePeiza, to break their silence on this matter and let the public of Barbados understand where they stand on this most unfortunate situation. Silence simply cannot be an option when the very public health system of Barbados is being imperiled by recklessness.”

He added that Atherley, in particular, needs to speak up.

“At the very least, Bishop Atherley, in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition, should summon his senator to his office and demand an explanation of his actions and his dangerous belligerence in continuing to use his personal union to encourage some nurses to abandon their commitment to serve the sick and unwell in this country,” the BLP general secretary said.

Franklyn has so far remained unmoved in his position that the strike, in which 30 nurses participated on Wednesday, would continue until all their grievances have been resolved, including unsatisfactory work conditions and the planned implementation of a Safe Zones policy which would require the nurses to be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing.

Dr Walcott insisted that such “callous” action puts the island’s healthcare system at risk, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and goes against established industrial relations practice. (SB)