THE National Workers Union (NWU) is not pleased by the actions taken by certain employers against their employees singling out the security services sector and St Jude Hospital.
“The NWU is extremely concerned about some of the industrial behavior being exhibited by certain employers within the Security Services Sector,” noted the union’s President-General Tyrone Maynard.
Maynard said that the NWU is adamant that the coronavirus pandemic, cannot be held responsible for what he described as “those industrial atrocities that were being committed before the start of the pandemic and are taking place currently.”
“These were existing long before the onset of COVID-19. Workers in the Security Services Sector are being badly paid by some employers. Their hours of work are being manipulated to avoid Overtime payments. Overall conditions of employment are appalling,” Maynard said, vowing that the NWU will deal with the situation head on.
Regarding St Jude Hospital, the NWU, Monday wrote to the hospital’s management conveying what it called “the workers total disillusionment as a result of neglect by both (government) regimes.
The letter stated that St. Jude Hospital workers were the worse in the Essential Services Sector and cannot be compared economically with workers at LUCELEC, FLOW, WASCO and others.
“It is clear that St. Jude Hospital over the years has always attracted national attention as it relates to its medical contribution to the southern part of the island. The NWU is of the opinion that the workers have been at the forefront in spite of the conditions and at this point they can no longer be ignored. Should this trend continue Management will be held responsible for any fall out,” the letter stated in part.
The NWU has given the St. Jude Hospital Management Team seven days for a resolution.