Junior doctors agree to return to work following sickout

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

Junior doctors are expected back on the job by 6 p.m. Monday following a mediation exercise involving the Jamaica Medical Doctors' Association and Ministries of Health and Finance, facilitated by the Ministry of Labour.

 

The resumption of work comes after the doctors staged a sickout Monday morning to press the government over overtime rates and retroactive pay.

 

The return to work also comes after a heads of agreement was reached during Monday afternoon's mediation exercise.

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JMDA President Dr. Renee Badroe said a meeting will be held Tuesday morning at 10:30 to discuss the way forward. 

 

"We hope the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, especially, will have good sense in the meeting that we have with them tomorrow and that we will reach a resolution re our overtime as well as our retroactive payments. We meet back with the Ministry of Labour on Wednesday," she disclosed.

 

Monday's industrial action affected operations at public health facilities across the island.

 

Critical services were manned by senior doctors.

 

Non-emergency patients were sent home.

 

The JMDA said up to Sunday, the government had failed to respond to an ultimatum for the completion of discussions on overtime remunerations.

 

The doctors have expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed rate for calculating overtime. 

 

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. said a second meeting has been scheduled with the Ministries of Health and Finance as well as the Jamaica Medical Doctors; Association to address any outstanding issues. 

 

"The parties will return to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for an update and for further conciliation, if necessary, on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 2 p.m. And in all of this, it is agreed and understood that there will be no victimisation on either side. Myself and the team at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security want to express gratitude and thanks to all parties for their willingness to sit down and to have an open, honest conversation. This is the way that we settle disputes peacefully and constructively," he said.

  

 

Opposition Spokesperson on Health, Dr. Alfred Dawes, said Monday's industrial action indicates a further decay in the health care system.

 

Dr. Dawes also criticised the government's treatment of health care workers. 

 

"The fact that the matter is that this could have been avoided. For a long time now, there have been issues with respect to the negotiated salary increases. You as a government cannot in good faith negotiate a rate with your employees and then just simply refuse to pay those employees. 

 

"During COVID we lauded them as heroes and gave them certificates and medals. But now, when they are due the monies that they have worked for - they're not negotiating for an increase; they have actually gotten the increase and they've worked for that time period and they're due that money - and they're just not being paid," he complained. 

 

He said medical professionals have sent a strong message with their industrial action. 

 

"It is never an easy decision for any doctors to stage industrial action. But they have been at their wit's end for quite some time now and they've just been ignored by the government. When the ultimatum was given there was no acknowledgement of it. It was as if 'I dare you to' and that approach it does not bode well for industrial relations," he argued.

 

Sean Brissett, Parish Manager for the St. Elizabeth Health Department, said operations were scaled down across the facilities in the parish.

 

Curative services were cancelled and emergency mode activated as the hospitals were forced to use just the limited number of doctors on duty. 

 

Mr. Brissett said type 2 and type 3 facilities were more affected.