Union seeking Labour Ministry intervention in ambulance drivers' dispute

 

General Secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO), Helene Davis Whyte, says the union will be seeking the intervention of the Ministry of Labour in a dispute involving ambulance drivers. 

 

The drivers attached Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department staged a sick out on Monday to protest delayed, retroactive and overtime payments with which they say were due last Friday.

 

The payments have reportedly been outstanding since 2022, with the workers claiming they were last promised payment in April.  

 

Speaking with the Radio Jamaica News on Monday afternoon, Mrs. Davis Whyte said the South East Regional Health Authority failing to pay allowances to workers is a recurring problem. She said the delayed payments have been affecting staff morale.

 

"There are some persons who indicated that they did not see the payment, the new rates in their salaries, and so they became quite upset last Friday and they decided that they would take action today and tomorrow to press for the payment of the new rates and for the promise in relation to the retroactive amounts for the south east region to make sure that they follow through in that promise," she noted.

 

The JALGO head added that the non-payment of overtime money to ambulance drivers is another major issue.

 

"Coming out of the compensation review, there is a new extra hours work policy that limits overtime on a regular basis to 15 hours for the month, and it is creating a lot of delays for the payments and in particular with regards to drivers, particularly your ambulance drivers."

 

Monday's action impacted operations at several major health facilities, including the Kingston Public Hospital, Bustamante Hospital for Children, National Chest Hospital and the Hope Institute.

 

Last week, registered and enrolled nurses attached to the South East Regional Health Authority called in sick to protest against the non-payment of outstanding salaries, uniform allowance and retroactive overtime by the Ministry of Health.