Sanitation workers at Spanish Town Hospital in limbo

 

Sanitation workers at Spanish Town Hospital are questioning their employment status, following what appears to be a standoff between their employer, JACDEN Group, and the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA). 

 

A worker who spoke with Radio Jamaica News explained that they received instructions not to carry out their usual duties.

 

"Yesterday, we come on the 2-10 shift and they say that we should sign in and don't go on our location. We were figuring that it was a meeting that gonna keep, but we keep on holding on until she said no one go on their ward else they're not gonna get a dollar; if we go on the ward, we're not gonna get pay. We can go and have our lunch, but don't go on the ward...and 10 o'clock we must come and sign out to get our pay. Today, we come is the same thing. The security say we must not come in on the compound because JACDEN, they terminate their contract. That's what they said," she recounted. 

 

JACDEN Company Secretary Anserd Williams said the issue stems from challenges with the contract offered to the company by the South East Regional Health Authority, particularly in relation to late payments. 

 

Mr. Williams said the company and SERHA had initially agreed to an interest rate of 1.5% on late payments. 

 

"We negotiated on that matter. They accepted and offered a 1.5% interest, which subsequently they withdrew and said that the interest for late payment would be 0%. I said to Mr Brown, since the matter has to go back to cabinet, as you said, let us in the interim, we are prepared to operate on purchase orders. To date, he has not responded to that request to produce any purchase order," he contended.

 

Mr. Williams said the company has not received any payment from SERHA since it took over janitorial and porting services at Spanish Town Hospital on July 1. 

 

He said the company has withdrawn its services until the issue is resolved. 

 

"So, our instruction to our workers, report to work because we have an obligation to you. But we are not going to provide the service. We are prepared to pay the workers, because it's not their doing, but we are not providing the service."

 

Efforts to reach Regional Director at SERHA Lascelles Brown proved unsuccessful.