Despite a ruling by Justice Nareshwar Harnanan in November last year that deductions illegally made from striking Linden nurses in 2021 be repaid by December 31st 2023, the state has not complied and it says it will appeal the decision.
The state says it will also seek a stay of the ruling. Its non-compliance with the judge’s decision could lead to contempt of court proceedings.
Since the judge’s ruling on November 2nd last year, the nurses’ representative the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has sought to have the deductions repaid to no avail.
The GPSU was the claimant in the case and the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General were the defendants.
According to a press release dated January 11th, 2024 from the Union, it wrote the PS of the Ministry of Health the day before, advising of the order made by the court on November 2nd last for the repayments to have been made no later than December 31st, 2023.
The Union had by then already written a previous letter to the PS dated December 28th, 2023, urging compliance.
The GPSU said that in response to its latest letter, however, the PS sought to advise that the Attorney General (AG) had filed a notice of appeal and was also in the process of filing a notice of application for a stay of proceedings.
Against this background, the PS, the Union said, sought to further advise that based on instructions coming from the Chambers of the Attorney General, no repayments would be forthcoming at this time.
According to a copy of the letter signed by PS Malcom Watkins which was seen by this newspaper, it advises, “I wish to inform you that I am aware of the order of the court, however, I was advised, and I verily believe that the Attorney General of Guyana has filed a notice of appeal and is preparing to file a notice of application for stay of proceedings.”
“In this regard, I await further instructions on the matter,” the letter went on to state; before ending with, “should you have any questions/queries, please direct same to the Attorney General.”
Underscoring what it says is an injustice meted out to the nurses, the Union has stressed that the healthcare workers ought to be paid.
It said it is of the “firm belief that the injustice committed on the workers must not be prolonged to their detriment,” while going on to add; “the workers continue to suffer from the arbitrary and unlawful act committed against them.”
In his ruling, Justice Harnanan declared that the deductions made from the salaries of the nurses for “alleged breach of the public service rules relating to their absence without leave or adequate excuse was unlawful.”
The Judge then further went on to order that the deductions be repaid no later than December 31st, 2023. Costs were also awarded to the GPSU in the sum of $100,000 to have been paid by the same deadline; failing which the defendants—the AG and PS—would be held in contempt.
The Union had argued that the memorandum for “absenteeism and persistent unpunctuality” dated March 10th, 2021 issued under the hand of the PS of the Ministry of Health was “contrary to, and in breach of the Public Service Rules and therefore unlawful, illegal and a nullity.”
The Union was represented by Attorney-at-Law Mandisa Breedy.
Background
Back in March of 2021, nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) were engaged in protest action, as they called for the removal of Chief Executive Officer, Rudolph Small.
Small had made disparaging statements about nurses when he stated that they (the nurses) would clock in at the LHC and then leave for extramarital rendezvous.
In June that year, the GPSU instituted proceedings by way of a Statement of Claim against the Ministry of Health and the AG, seeking among other things, a declaration that the deductions for “Absenteeism and persistent unpunctuality” from the wages and salaries of the nurses was “unlawful, illegal and a nullity.”
The State had noted that the deductions were made after the nurses refused to turn up to work and were engaged in a strike which the health ministry considered “illegal and premature.”
The ministry had noted that by Memorandum of March 10th, 2021 it had notified employees that deductions would be made from their salaries for absenteeism and persistent unpunctuality at work.
The Ministry of Health, initially dismissed Small but this decision was later rescinded.
Small had apologized for his words but the nurses and GPSU were adamant that he be removed.
The nurses had staged daily industrial action in the month of March, 2021.
