PRESIDENT of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Patrick Yarde on Monday said that the union is unbothered as to whether the ongoing industrial action by nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) is illegal or not while making remarks at a press conference at GPSU’s Regent Street Headquarters.

Union Vice-President Dawn Gardener also stated that the GPSU is considering legal action against the Linden Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rudy Small.
Last week, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, Malcolm Watkins said the strike action by the nurses is “premature” and “illegal”, especially since the ministry was engaging them and the GPSU.

At Monday’s press conference, Yarde said the GPSU plans to maintain the industrial action indefinitely.
“We have been doing this for decades, and those ramifications we are not particularly bothered by,” Yarde said when questioned about the legality of the protest action.

“We are not going to get caught or hogged down in looking at issues or scenarios that would undermine our purpose, and render the goal not achievable; we are not going to get involved in those procedures,” he said.
With the support of the GPSU, nurses at the Linden Hospital have been engaged in industrial action for the past two weeks, calling for the removal of Small over some unacceptable comments he made.

In a media report last month, Small was quoted as saying that nurses at the hospital were clocking in at work and then abandoning their post “to meet their sweet man”.  Small was temporarily removed from his position as CEO on Tuesday last, but was subsequently reinstated.

SKELETON STAFF
PS Watkins said that due to the nurses protest action, they have left just a skeleton staff to care for the patients at the hospital.

According to Yarde, the current industrial action taken by the nurses is not a strike, but a “protest action”, and this was the reason the union did not give any notice about the industrial action.
“It is industrial action; it is not a strike. I would like to emphasise that the protest action taken is to prevent the CEO from entering the workplace,” Yarde said.

The Essential Services Arbitration Act Chapter 54:01, under which nurses and other frontline workers fall, prohibits strikes and lockouts in such undertakings or services, for settlement of disputes in public utility undertakings and in certain services.

Illegal strike action by nurses and other frontline workers could result in serious consequences, including the termination of services and criminal charges.

OPEN TO DIALOGUE
Yarde said the Union is “open to dialogue”, but nonetheless said it would maintain industrial action, unless its demands are met. The Union is demanding the CEO’s removal, and that disciplinary action being instituted against him.

“We will remove the industrial action if they remove the CEO. Not only do we want to see the CEO removed; we would like to see disciplinary actions taken against him,” Yarde said.
However, Watkins said it is unfair of the Union to ask the Health Ministry to negotiate under duress. According to Watkins, the ministry treated the concerns of the nurses seriously from the inception, and has agreed to engage the nursing staff and the Union through the Ministry of Labour.

The permanent secretary noted that the ministry agreed at the meeting with the Chief Labour Officer to engage the nurses and the GPSU on a way forward, but not until the strike is called off.

“The Permanent Secretary informed the Union in a discussion with their representative on March 5, 2021, that the ministry remains open and ready to discuss the concerns of the nurses at the LHC. We will, however, not negotiate under duress. We remain in contact with the Union and with the Ministry of Labour, and we are ready at any time to resume the discussions we started on March 4th at the Ministry of Labour,” a statement from Watkins had said.

Yarde said the GPSU will not be approaching the Ministry of Labour, but would attend a meeting if invited.