Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Irresponsible sick-out There can be no justification for the sick-out being staged by nurses employed by the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) in New Providence and Grand Bahama. On Monday, in an attempt to justify why more than 130 nurses in New Providence and 10 in Grand Bahama called in sick, Bahamas Nurses Union President Cleola Hamilton claimed that they were "just not feeling very well because of how they are being treated" by the government and warned that Monday's sick-out was just step one in a plan that will escalate if the government does not give the nurses greater assurances that they will receive their salary increases and health insurance benefits legally agreed to in their latest industrial agreement. The nurses apparently kept that promise yesterday as the sick-out continued on a large scale. Such a rash and dangerous statement deserves to be roundly condemned by all sane-thinking Bahamians. Does this mean that until their demands are met, the nurses will continue to irresponsibly endanger the lives of those patients who may be seriously ill and require the services that they are trained to provide? Obviously, the government cannot give in to their demands without making special concessions specifically for them at a time when the economy of the country cannot and should not be manipulated in this manner. These are tough economic times, and all Bahamians should understand that the only way the country can weather the current economic storm is if everyone makes certain sacrifices. True, the government had agreed that salary increases and health insurance benefits for nurses would be included in this fiscal year's budget, but because of a tremendous shortfall in revenue as a result of the worldwide economic crisis, the money simply is not there to keep that promise. Certainly, the nurses should appreciate that this was a tough decision for the prime minister to make, as he admitted in the House of Assembly on Monday when he said that the last thing in the world he wanted to do was not pay nurses and doctors their increases and not provide nurses with their health insurance, as was noted in a story published in The Guardian on Tuesday. Because of the reduction in the Ministry of Education budget, certain promises made to teachers also had to be put on hold. Surely, if Bahamas Teachers Union President Belinda Wilson, who has a reputation for being tenaciously vigilant in support of teachers' rights, accepted that the government at this time does not have the money to keep its promises to teachers, Hamilton should do likewise. The prime minister is not a magician. He cannot reach into a bag and pull out wads of money like a magician would pull a rabbit out of a hat. The money simply is not there. Trade unions like to play hardball in this manner because they know that politicians will bend over backwards to meet their demands for fear of political backlash. This is one of those issues, however, for which there should be bi-partisan political support. Denying health care to sick Bahamians is far too serious a matter for the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party to attempt to gain political mileage from the sick-out, and if it does it should likewise be condemned by the Bahamian people. What's more, the government should seriously look into the possibility of classifying nursing as an essential service, making it illegal for nurses to join a union, as is the case with police officers. The truth is that the health care of Bahamians should not be used as a bargaining chip in the reprehensible game being played by Hamilton and the nurses union. Wednesday, June 10, 2009