Linden nurses continue to ban CEOs from coming into office
SN1- Nurses attached to LHC protest over Bach’s removal.
Kaieteur News – It has been over a week for nurses attached to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) to continue to strike against the Ministry of Health’s decision to have the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rudy Small back in post , one day after removal. In addition to protesting and blocking Small’s entry into his office, nurses have moved a step further by preventing him from entering the office of the Administrative Manager, where he worked instead. Other administrative workers have also been suspended from their offices.
LHC CEO Rudy Small.
The nurses remain adamant that they will not leave until Bach is removed. Unconfirmed reports have emerged that plans are afoot to send Small to Kwakwani Hospital but nurses and regional officials say they don’t want him there either; they want it out of Region 10.
Joining the protest this week were several members of the main Opposition, including Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon and Chairman of the People’s National Congress (PNCR) Reform and former Health Minister Volda Lawrence. They all condemned Small’s act of making derogatory remarks against the nurses in an interview with a regional news agency.
Harmon, during his address to the nurses, said that his office and by extension the APNU + AFC party, sympathized with the nurses and understood their struggles as women and frontline workers. He also judged the protest to be legal. This is despite the fact that the Ministry of Health, having released a public statement, stresses that the protest was unlawful in encouraging the nurses to return to work, to avoid the result that will follow. “You’re on the front line and so anything that affects you, affects us all, there’s anything that affects your right to work, anything that affects the environment you are in working in it, is something we will stand by, “Harmon told the nurses.
Opposition leader Joseph Harmon on Saturday addressed nurses at LHC who are currently on strike.
Personalities like Bach, he said, should not be allowed to occupy the space in which they work, which makes them feel violated and respected. “We have to make sure we don’t have people occupying your space that breaks you, so the CEO here who occupies your space and breaks your integrity is not entitled to be here; it has to go and that is a view we have taken and I came up this morning to say one thing, that I support you that the APNU + AFC supports you, that we stand outside back to you, foot to foot, ”he said. In addition, Harmon said a lawsuit will also be filed against Small for his derogatory remarks. He also made a financial contribution to the nurses strike.
Lawrence, on Monday, with a party of women from the National Women’s Congress, joined the strike, and reiterated their support for their call to remove the CEO. “We are against any violence in any form, verbally, physically … we stand with you today and we want you to know that we are standing with you all the time because you are our frontline workers and you should be treated with respect, no man, no one should ever respect you, ”he confirmed. She barred Small for not using the necessary channel to deal with the issue of absence from work, if reported to him. The channel includes engaging the Sister in the Ministry of Health, who would have engaged the Matron at LHC, out of concern. “How can leadership be talking about the people who help you shine as a leader behind the scenes … It’s not for you as a leader to talk about your staff in such a low way.”
While skeleton staff remain in the various wards and departments, the nurses camp in shifts in the CEO’s office every day and will continue to do so until Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Malcolm Watkins answers to their call. Watkins said however that unless the nurses postpone the strike, discussions on the way forward, will not continue.
Last Thursday, a conciliation meeting was held by the Ministry of Labor, which saw several officials from the Ministry of Health, GPSU and LHC in attendance. The aim of the meeting was to determine Terms of Resumption of the strike. Watkins, however, said no further discussion would take place, should the strike continue. “The Ministry of Health says the strike by nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex is illegal and must be postponed before discussions about the future of CEO Rudy Small can resume,” the Ministry statement said.
Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Industrial Relations Officer Maurice Butters, who has been protesting with the nurses almost daily, told Kaieteur News that the strike was recognized by the Union as legal and that efforts had been made an engagement with Minister Frank Anthony, of the matter, but has not responded to that request. He said the strike will continue on all counts.
Last week, he faced a recording in which Small was heard making derogatory remarks during an interview. He said, “They’re so used to … coming to work, I’m telling you what’s happening now and I’ll stop. They have some nurses, especially those who work night, they come to work, they sign in, they escape to go to sleep with their ‘sweet man’ , their ‘sweet guy’ screws them up all night and they come back to work and sign out in the morning … all the lawlessness that goes on. “
Since then Small has apologized for his actions and asked the nurses to forgive him. They said, however, that his attitude since returning to work does not represent someone who is repentant since he has been seen laughing, waving and showing them thumbs. He was also in hospital on Saturday during Opposition Leader Harmon’s visit.