BELIZE CITY, Wed, May 5, 2021– News that nurses around the country were on a go-slow to express their opposition to recent salary cuts by GOB, sparked concern in many quarters. Many Belizeans have been wondering how the industrial action by the nurses will affect the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Michel Chebat, in response to the concerns, told local media, “This is a situation that we’ve been monitoring very closely with all of our regions. The report we’ve had up to this morning is that all of our nurses are, in fact, at work.” Although healthcare workers are currently at work, Minister Chebat says that provisions must be made in the event it does not remain this way. He further noted that if protesting nurses intend to not carry out the vaccination exercise, the ministry has a contingency plan in place.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has since been monitoring the expiration dates of vaccines and pledges to not allow any of the vaccines to go wasted. “The ministry does have a contingency plan, in case that does not happen. I want to highlight, and I want to emphasize and remind you, that we are in a pandemic, and vaccinations are a part of our response to the pandemic. And so, vaccinations do constitute an essential service. I can also assure you that today, are being carried out,” stated Hon. Chebat during an interview.
He went on to say, “We have been trying our best to understand the issues that are facing the nurses, and how best to resolve them. We’re dealing with the issue of overtime, to make sure that if there is any overtime pending, that we can find the resources to pay them. I can tell you that…. Nurses Week begins, and we’re looking at things such as the uniform allowances that they’ve been entitled to, to see how we can best get that to them. I know that they haven’t got that in over a year or so, so, that’s a concern for them, especially now with this pandemic, where they’re working a lot of overtime,” said Minister Chebat.
Hon. Chebat also noted that these concerns are an integral part of the discussion with the unions, and he mentioned that, although he is not an active member of the negotiating team, he knows that the initial plan was to exclude healthcare workers from the salary cut, since they have been on the frontlines in the response to the pandemic, but the Joint Unions rejected this proposal, he said.
On the topic of resistance by the unions, Hon. Chebat commented, “Everyone has a right, the freedom of expression, and the freedom to strike. Our concern is to make sure that the services are being provided to the public, and so, to an extent that we want to make sure that our staff is in place. Otherwise, we respect everybody’s right to strike.” Hon. Chebat further claimed that he is understanding of the nurses’ concerns and their right to protest; however, he urges these health professionals to exercise this right with caution and be mindful of the role they play in the overall health of the people in this country.