THE TRIBUNE
Friday, August 10, 2018, PAGE 5
Show us some respect, please from page one In the press release issued early yesterday morning, the ministry declared the strike vote poll taken by the BNU on June 7 null and void because some nurses on three Family Islands did not have an opportunity to vote. Less than two hours later, the ministry sent a follow up email, asking the initial press release be held if possible, in light of “new developments”. “It’s disrespectful that the reporters got it before the union,” Ms Williams told The Tribune. “We know nothing of it. We have not gotten an official letter. We were not called to the roundtable. So we’re going to show them the disrespect in a (little) bit. Tell them look for the disrespect from us in a (little) bit.”
When asked what form this could take, Ms Williams said: “We will take it to the streets, that’s what we (are going to) do. Tell (Director of Labour) John Pinder, you don’t disrespect us. We taking care of the patients. We demand respect. If you had something to say to us, you don’t go to the public, to the reporters first…that’s unprofessional.” Last week, Mr Pinder told this newspaper that Ms Williams should stop her threats now that the government has committed to start paying nurses overdue funds this month. For her part, Ms Williams added that she had not been made aware of the fact that the ministry had asked for the statement to be held. Ms Williams said on Wednesday she delivered a letter to the ministry
FRED LIFAITE, 45, outside court yesterday.
regarding concerns in reference to the strike certificate. According to Ms Williams, in the letter she detailed that in “Inagua, efforts were made to contact the authority via internet and fax. However, it appears that their system (was) down.” She added similar issues affected Mayaguana and San Salvador. “We only could say what we received, okay?” Ms Williams said. “We were just like anybody else, waiting to hear from these islands who voted and who we sent to. The BNU has not received any complaints…from any of our members to say they were being denied the opportunity to vote. Those who were trying to reach us, we sent it by email and fax, ok?” Ms Williams also pointed
Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
to the small number of nurses on the islands in question, saying: “The first three islands don’t even have six nurses— each island has two nurses each. Which will not make a difference. The fact and the thing that makes a difference is the majority of nurses said ‘yes’ (to a strike vote) — 377 nurses.” The BNU president also questioned whether the ministry is using this as an opportunity or an “escape” to prevent the union from having its strike certificate. Labour Minister Dion Foulkes confirmed to The Tribune yesterday that he had received the BNU’s letter confirming the three islands in question did not receive ballots. “The (law) mandates that all union members (should) have an opportunity to vote. So because of that
irregularity, it was impossible for me to certify the strike vote,” Mr Foulkes said. Yesterday, the Public Hospitals Authority also released a memorandum announcing its decision to commence its “comprehensive standardised shift system” for its nursing complement throughout all of its institutions starting September 3. Under this system, nurses will have to work eighthour shifts, “including those nurses previously assigned to the night shift.” “This change will in effect eliminate the current ‘four on, four off’ system, resulting in increased availability of nurses in our nursing pool, while reducing working hours per day for nurses currently working the night shifts,” the statement continued. The PHA added that by
reducing work hours from ten hours per day to eight hours for night duty, nurses would reduce the risk of medical error. Request for response from the BNU regarding this matter were unanswered up to press time. The issue of shift changes has been an ongoing source of contention between the BNU and the PHA. On August 1, the BNU’s executive board demonstrated outside Princess Margaret Hospital regarding its ongoing issues with the PHA and the government. On April 30, more than 200 registered and trained clinical nurses staged a “sick out”. One issue that angered them was a 12-hour shift foreign nurses, who are not a part of the union, were asked to work at the time.
MARIO TAYLOR, 36, outside court.
‘I’M GUILTY’ - JAILBREAKER GETS THREE MORE YEARS from page one Security Marvin Dames confirmed the hole was discovered in the male dormitory during a routine check shortly before 1pm last Friday. Taylor entered pleas of guilty to both offences and in his address to the court, took full responsibility for the acts, insisting that he both plotted and executed the offences alone. Taylor, who was committed to prison last October for an undisclosed offence, said he has battled “personal problems” since being sentenced. He explained his time in
prison has been hard, suggesting medical issues with an aunt and other family matters have taken a toll on him, placing him in a frame of mind in which he “wanted to assist”. Taylor admitted he removed a piece of steel from a bathroom at the facility and moved it to his cell. He told the court he hid the item in a section of the ceiling he had access to. He later added that over the course of two months, he used the steel to chip away at the ceiling while his cellmates were out in the yard. Taylor, in agreeing to the details of his offences,
admitted he used three buckets left in his cell to reach the ceiling. He also acknowledged he would hide his efforts using a curtain to prevent passing officers and prisoners from looking into his cell while he carried out his plot. Taylor said once he was successful in creating an area to enter the roof, he did so on two occasions to hide a bag of clothes and to further attempt to cut into the facility’s metal roof. He said he was unsuccessful in his attempt to carry out the latter. In their discovery of the hole, prison officials said
they also discovered a garbage bag with a rope made of cloth. Taylor was sentenced to three years for the attempted escape and two
YOUR
years for the damage to the ceiling. The sentences are to run concurrently. He has been given seven days to appeal the ruling.
As for Lifaite, he entered not guilty pleas to both charges. The court adjourned the case against Lifaite to October 4 for trial.
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