Union calls for new employment terms for public sector dentists

The Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), which represents dentists in the public sector, has sounded the alarm concerning the large number of them quitting their posts and migrating.

UCASE President Vincent Morrison, who spoke with Radio Jamaica News on the matter, did not provide figures to support his claim, but attributed the reportedly high attrition rate to the short term contracts on which the dentists are employed.

He said the dentists are fed up with the short term contracts because they do not afford them the same benefits as permanent workers.

He claimed that dentists who used to be given three-year contracts are now being contracted for only two years, which, according to him "is sending the wrong signal".

This practice, he argued, is symptomatic of the failure on the part of Jamaica to protect its limited high-value labour force. Citing the example of Japan, "in terms of what they have done to protect their labour force," he urged that similar steps be taken to safeguard Jamaica's interest.

Employing workers on short-term contracts is "designed to avoid paying well-established benefits" to these workers, he charged.