00:00are set to protest again tomorrow, April 10th. Opposition leader Penelope Beckles believes
00:04while Health Minister Dr. Lac Rambodou signals that there is no impasse between the government
00:10and nurses, the actions being taken send a different message.
00:15I want to call on this government who has said to the public of Trinidad and Tobigo that they
00:22will consult, that they will discuss, that when it comes to issues of health in our country,
00:28it is important for them to understand that they should not play games with the health
00:34of the people of Trinidad and Tobigo.
00:37Leader notes that just last year the Health Minister reported a shortage of nursing staff
00:42to patient ratios at some facilities. The protests have been over a number of issues. These include
00:49allegations of inadequate medical supplies and burnout due to the shortage. Another major issue
00:55for them is a decision taken to limit overtime hours from 60 to 40 per month and to reduce
01:00the hourly rate from $75 to $60. Beckles believes it could have been handled better.
01:08If you don't agree with a policy that existed before where there was a pool of nurses and
01:15they were utilizing persons from this pool for the purposes of extra duty, let's say for argument,
01:20say, okay, you don't agree with it. And they're making some argument that some nurses are taking
01:25home 50,000 and all sorts of figures. You don't agree with it. But if that is the case,
01:31do you simply decide that you just stop it? Isn't there something called consultation? Isn't there
01:38the Trinidad and Tobago Nurses Registered Association that you could call and discuss? But no.
01:43And we are hoping that this is not a crisis similar to what you created with CPEP and URB, where
01:51you
01:52create a problem and you have vacancies. And then you say to people of Trinidad and Tobago,
01:58the nurses don't want to work. So we're going to go elsewhere and bring nurses. Because somehow,
02:04I get a feeling that that is how this government is operating.
02:08Taking communication, the seeds are not being developed, and to require any responsibility at
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