Linden nurses continue to bar CEO from entering office

Mar 10, 2021 News

SN1- Nurses attached to the LHC protesting for the removal of Small.

Kaieteur News – It has been over one week that nurses attached to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) have continue to strike against the decision by the Ministry of Health, to have Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rudy Small, return to his post, one day after removing him. In addition to protesting and blocking Small from entering his office, nurses have moved a step further by blocking him from entering the office of the Administrative Manager, where he was working from instead. Other administrative employees have been barred from their offices as well.

CEO of LHC Rudy Small.

The nurses remain adamant that they will not let up until Small is removed. Unconfirmed reports have surfaced that plans are in the pipeline to send Small to the Kwakwani Hospital but nurses and regional officials say that they don’t want him there either; they want him out of Region 10.
Joining the protest this week, were several members of the main Opposition, including Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon and Chairwoman of the People’s National Congress-Reform (PNCR) and former Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence. They all condemned Small’s action, which was to make derogatory comments against the nurses, in an interview with a regional news agency.
Harmon, during his address to the nurses, said his office and by extension the APNU+AFC party, empathises with the nurses and understands their struggles as women and frontline workers. He also deemed the protest legal. This is despite the Ministry of Health, released a public statement, emphasising that the protest is illegal while urging the nurses to return to work, to avoid the consequence that will follow. “You are on the frontline and therefore anything that affects you, affects us all, anything that affects your right to work, anything that affects the environment in which you work, is something that we will stand on your side,” Harmon told the nurses.

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on Saturday addressing nurses at LHC who are currently striking.

Personalities as Small, he said, should not be allowed to occupy the space in which they work, which makes them feel violated and disrespected. “We have to ensure that we don’t have people occupying your space that is violating you, so this CEO here that is occupying your space and violating your integrity has no right to be here; he has to go and that is a position that we have taken and I came up this morning to say one thing, that I support you that the APNU+AFC supports you, that we stand behind you, foot to foot,” he said.In addition, Harmon said that a lawsuit will also be filed against Small for his derogatory comments. He also made a monetary contribution to the nurses’ strike.
Lawrence, on Monday, with a party of women from the National Congress of Women, joined the strike, and reiterated that they support their call for the removal of the CEO. “We are against any violence in any form, verbal, physical…we stand with you today and we want you to know that we stand with you all the time because you are our frontline workers and you ought to be treated with respect, no man, nobody should ever disrespect you,” she affirmed. She chided Small for not using the requisite channel to deal with the issue of absence from work, if that was reported to him. The channel include engaging the Chief Nurse at the Ministry of Health, who would have engaged the Matron at LHC, of the concern. “How can it be that leadership is talking about the people who help you to shine as a leader behind the scenes…It is not for you as a leader to be talking about your staff in such a low graded manner.”
While a skeleton staff remains in the various wards and departments, the nurses camp out in shifts at the CEO’s office every day and will continue to do so until the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Malcolm Watkins, answer to their call. Watkins however said that unless the nurses call off the strike, negotiations on the way forward, will not continue.
Last Thursday, a conciliation meeting was convened by the Ministry of Labour, which saw several officials from the Ministry of Health, GPSU and LHC present. The meeting aimed at deciding on a Terms of Resumption from the strike. Watkins however said that no further discussion will be held, if the strike continues. “The Ministry of Health says the strike by nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex is illegal and must be called off before negotiations about the future of the Chief Executive Officer, Rudy Small can resume,” the statement from the Ministry said.
Industrial Relations Officer of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Maurice Butters, who has been protesting with the nurses almost every day, told Kaieteur News that the strike is recognised by the Union as a legal one and efforts have been made to engage the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, of the matter, but he has not responded to that request. He said the strike will continue by all means.
Last week, a recording surfaced where Small was heard making derogatory comments during an interview. He said, “They are so accustomed…to coming to work, I’m telling you what’s going on now and I will put a stop to it. They have some nurses, especially those that work night, they come to work, they sign in, they get away to go and sleep with their ‘sweet man’, their ‘sweet man’ does screw them whole night and they does come back to work and sign out in the morning…all the lawlessness going on.”
Small has since apologised for his actions and asked the nurses to forgive him. They however said that his attitude since he returned to work does not represent someone who is remorseful since he was seen laughing, waving and showing them thumbs up. He was also at the hospital on Saturday during the visit by Opposition Leader Harmon.