Figueira urges Govt. to reconsider appeal on withholding salaries of Linden nurses

Jan 20, 2024 News

---

Kaieteur News – Opposition Parliamentarian, Jermaine Figueira is urging the Government of Guyana (GoG) to reconsider its appeal of the court ruling that orders the repayment of salaries owed to nurses in Linden.

The nurses had exercised their right to take industrial action back in 2021, following derogatory remarks from Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), Rudolph Small. He had accused the nurses of clocking in at the Linden Hospital and then leaving for extra-marital rendezvous.

A High Court ruling last November declared that deductions made from the salary of nurses at Linden, who were part of a strike action back in 2021 were unlawful. Subsequent steps taken by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) for the workers to be paid have been in vain.

The Union has been informed that the Attorney General (AG) had filed a notice of appeal and was also in the process of filing a notice of application for a stay of proceedings in relation to the November 2, 2023 High Court ruling.

In an invited comment on Friday, the Region 10 Member of Parliament (MP) reasoned that Guyana is currently faced with a shortage of nurses and is forced to import these skills from other countries. He therefore holds the view that government should not withhold the salaries rightfully owed to these workers.

“A lot of these nurses are underpaid and that is why we would have seen an exodus of many of our nurses to the (United Kingdom) UK, the (United States) US and other parts of the world, and it is no secret that there is a shortage in the health care sector with regards to the need for nurses and the situation with regard to the Linden nurses is one that is most concerning and I am very much disappointed in the approach of government to challenge the court’s decision in which they ruled in favour of the nurses to be paid,” Figueira said.

He explained that the nurses in Linden have had more than $100,000 taken away from their salaries and were left with as little as $120 to get through the month following the salary cuts.

According to him, “This is most unconscionable given that we have high cost of living and we already went through the hardship of not having their salaries at that time and now that the court has ruled in their favour we have seen government reach again to disenfranchise them from their hard earned labour.”

To this end, Figueira urged the government to reconsider its appeal.

He said the Linden Hospital has lost scores of nurses in 2023 alone. Those health workers migrated to greener pastures; he however indicated that this does not only affect Region 10 but the broader health sector of the country.

Figueira said this move by government questions its concern for the working class. “You cannot say you care for workers and in the very same breath by your actions you have demonstrated your uncaring nature…it only proves to the populace that the government says one thing and does something else.”

He believes that the response by government to the situation could deter foreign nurses from joining the local health sector.

On the other hand, MP used the opportunity to voice his concerns over the wages being paid to the workers. He told Kaieteur News that nurses should be paid better wages to reflect their years of service. While interacting with a nurse in Linden he said he received a complaint that a nurse who has been in the system for over 20 years is being paid the same salary as a registered nurse who joined last year. Figueira said this should be a key consideration for government to maintain an experienced cohort of health workers in the country.

“We believe that the importation of nurses from Cuba and other parts is not the solution required. We need to invest more in our nurses and pay them more for them to serve our health care sector,” he said.

On Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo justified the Government’s right to appeal a High Court order which declared that deductions made from the salary of nurses at Linden, who were part of a strike action back in 2021 were unlawful.

Jagdeo explained, “During the COVID period a number of nurses were disciplined for various offences. The disciplinary measure could take several forms, termination, and suspension or as the Labour Ministry advise deductions. The [Ministry] lawfully choose that route of deductions when the nurse would be absent and the court ruled in favour of the nurses.”

He continued, “However, there is an industrial principle at stake here, and if we allow them to succeed, then the Ministry would not be able to utilize this tool, which is often used in the collective bargaining process to discipline staff… There a bigger issue at stake for industrial action and that is why the appeal is necessary.”

---

• appeal, Linden, Nurses, Reconsider, salary

---