Some health care workers are demanding that they, too, receive hazard pay as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yesterday around 11 a.m., some staff members at the Geriatric Hospital in Beckles Road, along with some nurses at the Winston Scott Polyclinic in Jemmotts Lane and the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic in Warrens, all in St Michael, walked off the job briefly calling for the same pay which staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) are receiving.
Acting general secretary at the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Wayne Walrond, said the union was being bombarded with calls from other front-line workers claiming they were also due the extra money.
“It is a very contentious issue, and it is not as simple as one would think. We have been inundated with calls ever since the story broke that the QEH would pay a COVID-19 allowance. There has been a rush on the NUPW from so many categories of workers arguing that they should also be included. It has been a very demanding situation and it is something we have to manage because virtually every worker is making a claim that they should get this allowance,” he said.
He added they would continue advocating for the additional funds, as he and deputy general secretary Richard Green addressed a handful of staff around 1:30 p.m. after they briefly staged the work stoppage at the Geriatric Hospital. (TG)
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