Gov’t taking med techs to court
GOVERNMENT will be taking defiant medical technologists to court to end their strike.
“Their defiance of the order to return to work means that they have committed a serious breach under the (Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes) Act and I can tell you that summons have already been drawn up for that breach of the law to have them appear in court, and I hope they (summons) will be served over the weekend,” Health Minister John Junor told the Observer yesterday.
Labour Minister Horace Dalley also warned the technologists that it was illegal to continue their strike after a back-to-work order was issued by the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT). “Their action under the LRIDA constitutes a breach of the provisions of the Act and any person who continues this action is liable for prosecution,” said Dalley.
The labour minister noted that the medical technologists could be fined a maximum of $50,000, with an additional fine of $2,000 for each day the industrial action continues, if they were convicted in court.
The technologists who walked off their jobs on Thursday morning, the second time in two weeks, were Thursday ordered by the Industrial Disputes Tribunal to return to work, starting with the 8:00 am shift yesterday.
However, instead of obeying the back-to-work order, the medical technologists voted unanimously at a meeting held at the Jamaica Grande Hotel in St Ann yesterday morning to continue their strike.
“We have taken a decision today (yesterday) to continue strike action until the matter is reasonably addressed by the ministries of health and finance,” said Leeford Bennett, chief union delegate for the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP), which represents the 104 government medical technologists.
Bennett said another meeting is planned for Monday to review developments over the weekend and to decide on further strategies to be adopted.
The technologists want to be paid on par with scientific officers who they say do similar duties. But Junor said Thursday that there are 104 medical technologists and five scientific officers, of which only two are engaged in the same work at the National Public Health Lab. Therefore, he could not agree to compensate the 104 people at the level of the two.
Bennett said the Joint Council of Paramedics, which includes pharmacists and other health support workers, has decided to lend its support to his organisation. “We have met with them and have updated them on the situation and they have decided to lend us their support,” he told the Observer.
Meanwhile, vice-president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), Dwight Nelson said the organisation was concerned about statements Thursday by Junor, threatening to terminate the services of the employees and have the services they perform at the Blood Bank and hospitals contracted.
“The JCTU does not condone disregard for the law, or legitimate directions and instructions from judicial bodies such as the IDT,” Nelson said. But while noting that the technologists have been given a “raw deal”, he urged them to pay due respect to the provisions of the laws.
Nelson said workers ought not to be treated with such impunity, “particularly these workers on whom the health of the Jamaican people depends so heavily”.
On Thursday the Blood Bank and hospitals across the island reported that they had started to feel the effects of the strike.
Junor said, however, that his ministry had put contingency in place to prevent a breakdown in emergency services. “We have ensured that the private laboratories are on board with us and they have been contracted for the emergency services we will need…,” the health minister said.