The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Doctors Union president Dr Melisande Bassett has hit out at Health Minister Dr Duane Sands over an ongoing labour dispute, saying regardless of whether junior doctors are only having their contracts slashed from three years to one year in “isolated incidents”, the matter contravenes the union’s industrial agreement.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Dr Bassett also provided updates about the BDU’s consideration of a strike poll, saying the union has submitted all “necessary documents” to the Department of Labour.

The BDU, which represents junior doctors, held a press conference on this issue on Wednesday.

Dr Sands addressed the matter on Friday, telling reporters: “That’s not so. There are isolated incidents where individuals may have an extension for one year or two years. There are some individuals that are kept on month to month, depending on the specific circumstances.

“And so, we have met. Certainly we have discussed this situation and there are certainly occasions when it is impossible or not appropriate to extend or to renew a contract for more than a particular time.”

Regarding the threat of industrial action, Dr Sands said: “That’s unfortunate. And we have met here at the ministry on this matter.”

He also said the number of people affected by this contract issue is “very low, very few” and added he intends to speak with the BDU president.

However, yesterday Dr Bassett said she has not heard from the minister as yet.

Regarding Dr Sands’ comment that this is happening in “isolated instances”, Dr Bassett replied: “Whether these are isolated instances or incidents, their implementation goes against our industrial agreement and is a practice than cannot persist and must be properly explained.”

She added the union is aware of four physicians who had their contracts reduced thus far and is “gathering additional information”.

When asked whether the union is still eying a strike poll, Dr Bassett replied: “We have submitted the necessary documents to the Labour Department and await confirmation of the date.”

However, when contacted yesterday, Labour Director John Pinder said he was unaware of any grievance or trade dispute being filed at the Department of Labour by the BDU.

“I have not seen any communication from the doctor’s union for a strike poll,” Mr Pinder said. “I don’t know if they have any grievance filed at the Department of Labour…That [hasn’t] reached my desk.

“The law dispute is if you have a trade dispute filed at the Department of Labour, and that dispute has not been conciliated, then you have the right to file for a strike poll.

“I don’t know what that could be. This new thing that came up had something to do, according to what I’m hearing [spoken] about in the press, has something to do with the government putting doctors on one year contracts rather than the three-year contracts. But I don’t know if they filed a dispute on that.

“First of all, the doctor’s union president has to understand this: if the government is doing something [in violation] of their industrial agreement then they need to file a trade dispute. And then we will conciliate the dispute to say ‘well government you are wrong, you are in violation of these people’s agreement’…But I don’t know this to be the case.”