The Belize government, acknowledging that it was caught by surprise at the decision of nurses countrywide to stage industrial action on Monday, said outstanding monies owed to the health workers could be paid by Friday.
Health and Wellness Minister, Kevin Bernard, told reporters via Zoom his ministry had met with the Nurses Association of Belize (NAB), and subsequently wrote to the Ministry of Finance regarding the payment.
He told reporters that the nationwide protests caught him by surprise, in light of prior meetings with the association and that agreement had been reached in relation to an adjustment made to the calculation of overtime hours for shift workers, and the return of monies deducted from nurses’ salaries during the last pay period, as a result of a short hour deduction policy.
“The overtime calculations will be calculated on a monthly basis, as opposed to every week, or every day, where nurses and doctors and all shift workers. It is not only applicable to nurses and doctors, this affects all shift workers, attendants, domestic workers, everybody that might not necessarily be at the Ministry of Health, but the issue came up with the nurses,” he told reporters.
“So, we have agreed with the Ministry of Finance that calculation will revert back to where it was calculated monthly so that not to affect a nurse who works on a shift basis, where they would be deducted if they did not work the weekly amount.”
President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, said what is hypocritical about the whole affair is that two years ago, health care workers were being praised for their work during the coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were applauding them, and in the same breath, we have continued to hold them hostage under the kind of inhumane, unsanitary, and not the best working conditions. Some idiot from the Ministry of Finance passed a rule that nurses must give an account of every single hour that they work.
Nurses across the country have been staging walkouts in protest against poor working conditions and salary deductions.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness and the NAB in a joint release said a meeting was held to address, “pressing issues confronting the nurses and the larger medical community.”
Following the two-hour meeting, which was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Labour, five resolutions were agreed upon including the Public Service Regulations and the Government Workers Regulations will be reviewed to reflect regulations for shift workers.
CMC/
