The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

DOZENS of nurses are demanding to be confirmed as permanent and pensionable after working in the public service, some for almost 15 years, and still being considered temporary workers.

Speaking with The Tribune, the nurses, who wish to remain anonymous, said they have been working as nurses for years yet the government refuses to make them permanent despite their many years of dedicated service.

The nurses say not only is this an inconvenience for their families as they are not covered by insurance in the event that something should happen, but it is also a danger to the patients they treat as well.

“I have been working for almost 15 years as a nurse and I still have not been confirmed. I was told in 2007, they couldn’t confirm me because of the downturn in the economy and that is fine, but people after me have been confirmed and I am still waiting,” one nurse said.

“It’s a lot of problems with us being paid but they are paying the teachers, they are paying the police officers, they are paying BEC workers Christmas bonuses but can not give us our confirmation.

“The problem with the confirmation is also that, for example our Family Island nurses, they are being ordered to take emergency flights or the boat in emergency situations but the problem is you are not covered so if the plane crashes or the boat sinks the government is not obligated to pay for these nurses or give compensation to the family members because you are technically not working.

“But you are putting the temporary workers on the islands and saying you have to work.

“The patients are also at risk because there is really no legal coverage for someone who is not legally hired to administer medications so you are basically taking a risk all around. Our major worry is if something happens to us, our children will not be taken care of because we technically do not work there.”

The nurses also said they believe they are being victimised ever since they began speaking out publicly about confirmation issues.

“We are also being threatened. A lot of persons are afraid to speak out because when we went to the Prime Minister a lot of persons got AWOL (away without leave), placed on their files. We are being victimised, they are threatening us simply because we are asking when we will be paid,” another nurse said.

“They were picking out nurses who they did not want to confirm because there are persons who finished one year after me, and if it was a downturn and you could not hire me, why did you then hire the person right after me, who finished a year after me?

“Why not hire the persons who were working longer? There are persons who just finished as much as two years ago who have been confirmed so we feel as though they are picking through nurses and chosing who they want to hire and this is not fair.

“We just want to be confirmed and we just want to be paid. You are supposed to be confirmed 12 months after continued service, well its been years and we are still just considered temporary.”

The Tribune attempted to contact the Nurses Union but calls were not returned up to press time.