– says President Ali, assures all Guyanese will have better standard of living

By Navendra Seoraj

GENUINE concerns of health workers have been radicalised and exploited by persons referred to as “independent actors” by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who maintained that his government is committed to improving the prospect and livelihood for nurses, doctors, clerical and frontline workers, even outside of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The President’s remarks come one day after some nurses attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) staged a protest in the ‘East Street Parking Lot’ on Friday morning, calling for more pay.

It was reported that the frontline workers, who could be heard chanting “No money, no work”, called on the Ministry of Health to provide them with an equitable working wage, as well as a risk allowance for the ‘extraordinary’ job they have been doing on a daily basis, particularly in the COVID-19 fight.
“Issues that the nurses and doctors raised were under active consideration, so I think that there are a lot of other factors we have to look at… But five years ago, or even a year ago, their situation was far worse.

“What I have seen in this strike are a few actors; and I have a strong monitoring team looking at the type of narrative being built on social media,” said President Ali while responding to questions from reporters on Saturday.

The President is confident that there are strong independent actors who are looking to exploit these circumstances. But regardless of the motive, the President maintained that government, as part of its five-year programme, is looking at improvement on a macro level.

“We are looking at assistance in the housing programme, not only increases in salary… better working conditions, better add-on benefits… nurses with children would benefit from the cash incentive, the cash grants, they will benefit from the uniform allowance, and the removal of VAT on electricity and water,” said President Ali.
Government, in the recently-presented 2020 Budget has allocated some $150 million for frontline health workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President said he understands that every category of worker wants more, and wants better.
And, he assured that the government has better to deliver, and that the authorities are committed to ensuring that all categories of workers have a better standard of living, better opportunities, and greater prospects in the future.

REQUEST FOR DUTY-FREE CONCESSIONS
When asked about the specific requests made by health workers, President Ali said he saw some requests which were outside of the scope of what the country could afford, like the request for duty-free concessions across-the-board for nurses.
In one instance, health workers even argued that government, in the immediate term, is able to invest $5 billion into the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) but cannot meet their demands.

This comment was met with a passionate response from President Ali, who said: “They are saying we are spending money on the reopening of sugar, and using it as justification for their action, but where was the solidarity when more than 7,000 sugar workers were sent home? What was the situation then? Where was the solidarity when more than 1,000 bauxite workers lost their jobs?”

The President noted that there was no socio-economic analysis of the impact on the closure of those sugar estates.
“You can see the socio-economic impact of the closure of the estates in those communities, and we cannot apologise for bringing back those jobs; we cannot have apologies for subsidies we will put into bauxite and mining… Then they said the budget is a private sector budget… How do we create growth and employment opportunities? So those are the narratives I find to be convenient and divisive,” President Ali said.

He added: “When you are running a country or running a system, you cannot only look at one category of worker; you have to look at the broad spectrum, because what you do will affect what you do in another area.

“But I am committed to ensuring that the prospect of workers is better, and by the end of five years, I can assure the nurses, doctors, farmers and everyone would understand the full and positive impact of what we have in the Manifesto for them and their families.”
Although those workers had an opportunity to convey their concerns, the management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) said the protest, which was instigated and organised by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), was done without proper industrial relations practices and procedures in accordance with the Public Utilities Undertaking and Public Health Service Act Chapter 54:01.

ILLEGAL PROTEST
The hospital advised against taking inappropriate advice, and abandoning their duties to support further ‘illegal’ protest action until every avenue provided for in the relevant legislation is exhausted. Until such time, further protest action(s) remain illegal, and may attract punitive action.
“In the interim, we recommend that proper industrial relations practices and procedures be observed by all, in accordance with the Public Utilities Undertaking and Public Health Services Act, and request that all healthcare practitioners continue to do their jobs in a professional manner, and await the provisions contained within the 2020 National Budget,” said the management of GPHC.

The administration thanked all staff members for their service in providing quality, efficient and equitable care to patients, but the entity remains deeply concerned that amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers from the GPHC have resorted to measures that can only aggravate the current situation, and place additional challenges on the fragile public health system.

“Management wishes to state that protecting our staff as this pandemic evolves remains our top priority, consequently, we have in the past and continue to provide appropriate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in order to equip our staff members so they can provide safe, efficient and effective care to our patients, while at the said time doing so in a safe environment,” said the hospital.
Management of the hospital also said it has and continues to provide risk allowances to staff members, in accordance with the provisions catered for in Public Service Circular NO PS: 20/19.

Amidst the increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases, there is heightened concern among healthcare workers, so the hospital assured its employees that every effort will be made to ensure that they feel supported, protected and appreciated for their hard work and dedication to their patients.