Wilson... wants to get claim out before contract ends.THE NURSES Association of Jamaica (NAJ) is expected to send to the Government, within the next two weeks, a salaries and benefits claim to cover the contract period 2003-2006.
President of the NAJ, Iris Wilson, said yesterday that the association was putting final touches to the claim and would send it to the Government, long before their current contract period comes to an end, on March 31, 2003.
"We want to get it out there before our contract period ends," Mrs. Wilson said.
On another matter, Mrs. Wilson said that nurses are also to meet with representatives of the Ministry of Health and the regional health authorities to discuss the secondment issue on February 11 at the NAJ headquarters, Arnold Road, Kingston.
Mrs. Wilson said that the meeting is to clarify any concerns the nurses may have about secondment before they decide whether to continue working directly with the Ministry of Health and the Public Services Commission, or end staff secondment, which would see them getting permanent appointments with the four regional health authorities.
She said that some nurses are still not clear on certain issues and that she wanted to ensure that the regional authorities and the Ministry are saying the same things. The current period of secondment ends in March.
In November 2000, the majority of the island's nurses, midwives and junior doctors opted to remain on secondment from the Ministry of Health and the Public Services Commission, instead of accepting permanent appointments at various regional health authorities (RHAs).
One reason for the decision, was that the RHAs had not yet established a pension scheme, or formal terms of employment for those persons they intend to employ permanently. Health officials had stated, in 2000, that extended secondment will give the 28 medically-related bargaining units time to think about the issue carefully, as well as to properly conduct the transfer of functions from the Office of the Services Commis-sion to the RHAs. Other choices offered to the associations included nurses accepting permanent appointment or resigning.
