NURSES SICK OVER BUDGET CUTS

UNCLAS NASSAU 000388


STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND EB
SANDO DOMINGO FOR USFCS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON PHUM PGOV BF
SUBJECT: NURSES SICK OVER BUDGET CUTS


1. (U) SUMMARY: Nurses have ended a two-week, mass sick-out over
proposed budget cuts, but talks continue on resolving their dispute
with the GCOB. Nurses protested the GCOB's elimination of an annual
salary increase and promised health insurance plan and threatened to
strike. The GCOB refused talks until the nurses returned to work
June 22, denouncing the sick-out as "illegal". END SUMMARY.

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NURSES STAGE MASS SICK-OUT
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2. (U) Nurses at public hospitals in New Providence and other
islands began to call in sick to work beginning June 8. Mass
absences seriously disrupted normal public health services and
closed several clinics, which were reportedly back to normal June 22
on the eve of talks with the government. The action came despite an
apparent agreement between the GCOB and the Bahamas Nurses Union
president, Cleola Hamilton, over planned budget cuts announced by
Prime Minister Ingraham May 27 in his annual budget communication.


3. (U) The union chief initially said that nurses understood the
government's predicament in the current economic crisis and agreed
that the 4% annual pay raise and new health insurance coverage would
be deferred this year and re-allocated when the economy rebounds.
The union head later complained that the nurses felt snubbed by the
government after PM Ingraham said in the House of Assembly "we are
not doing it for the nurses, but we are increasing it for the
police".

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GCOB CONDEMNS "ILLEGAL" ACTION
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4. (U) The GCOB first threatened the nurses with pay cuts, then
obtained a court injunction June 15 ordering the nurses to return to
work. Following a fruitless meeting on June 17 with Health Minister
Hubert Minnis, the union chief said nurses were beginning to lose
hope in the government and were prepared to fight for their due. PM
Ingraham responded that the government would not negotiate with
those engaged in what he described as "illegal" activities.
According to law, public servants in essential government services,
such as nurses and the security forces, may not engage in industrial
action.

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CONFUSION OVER EXISTING
CONTRACT AS TALKS OPEN
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5. (U) Media reports revealed that the industrial agreement between
the nurses union and the Public Hospitals Authority, which provided
for the pay raise and new health insurance at the root of the
dispute, was never properly registered with the Industrial Tribunal.
The Director of Labor said the agreement was still in draft form
after two years because suggested amendments were never made,
rendering the contract legally unenforceable. The GCOB said it
intended to honor the "spirit" of the contract, nevertheless. The
nurses union said it had asked the Minister of Labor for leave to
conduct a strike vote, a statement which the Minister disputed on
the eve of direct talks.


6. (U) The Ministers of Health and Labor met with the nurses union
representatives June 23, but did not resolve the dispute. Talks are
scheduled to resume July 1. Nurses appear willing to forego the pay
increase, but are seeking a transitional agreement on health
insurance until the GCOB is able to fund the promised plan, as early
as July 2010. The GCOB countered with a proposal for free access for
nurses to private ward care at the main public hospital in Nassau
for work related illnesses only.

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COMMENT
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7. (U) The disputed industrial action appears to have ended when
the nurses blinked, short of sick days and public sympathy, though
they succeeded in dragging the GCOB to the negotiating table. While
the opposition has sharply criticized the GCOB's handling of the
sick-out, the nurses union does not appear to have garnered
widespread public support. Bahamians have not shown sympathy for
disruptive union actions in recent years, especially in the current
economic climate. Given the circumstances, the nurses are likely to
accept the GCOB's alternative proposal.

ZUNIGA-BROWN