THE MEMBERSHIP of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) has given the Government until June 30 to complete wage and fringe benefits negotiations, promote nurses who have been acting in positions for more than six months and
provide a scarcity allowance for them.
This decision was taken yesterday following an extraordinary meeting with the members of the NAJ at its Arnold Road offices in Kingston.
"Inform us of our settlement and give us our share of the pie," NAJ President Edith Allwood-Anderson said while speaking to journalists following yesterday's meeting. "You (Government) have given the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions and other groups (a settlement) ... tell the country what you will be giving the
nursing sector."
INCREASE NET SALARIES
Mrs. Allwood-Anderson is also demanding that the Government increase the net salaries of entry-level nurses from $31,000 per month to $60,000 per month.
The NAJ president said nurses should be given a scarcity allowance because many of their colleagues have migrated and have not been replaced. "So it's the same nurses that have to be there 24/7," she said.
Meanwhile, the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) has given the Government until today to respond in writing to its wage claim.
According to Dr. Myerton Smith, president of the JMDA, the association submitted its claim to the Government on May 15, but has yet to receive a response.
