00:00Today we are suffering because we cannot afford to live every month, to afford to take care of our children,
00:07to afford to do the everyday things that persons can afford.
00:12Do you think that is right? For the essential service to be suffering like this?
00:17President of the TTNNA, Leticia Cox, says she and her union were left completely disappointed in yesterday's budget,
00:25as promises made were not kept.
00:27Today, there is nothing much that we could smile about when it comes to nurses and midwives
00:34in the various regional health authorities in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:38Because in the mid-year budget review earlier this year, the Honorable Minister of Finance would have made promises.
00:48He called teachers, he called nurses, and he said all those who were still doing well,
00:57completing any final stages of their negotiation, and who are also waiting on relief,
01:02would have been addressed in that budget.
01:04And I sat down for all of, was it two hours?
01:12She says, as a result of the public service salaries being brought up to 2019,
01:17a situation will now arise where some healthcare workers are receiving a more updated salary than others.
01:23So you know what's going to happen?
01:26The monthly paid workers in the regional health authority will be on 2013,
01:30while our daily paid counterparts would be on their 2019 salaries.
01:36Is that fair, just, equitable, and good industrial relations practice? Is it?
01:43Cox is appealing to the Minister of Finance for fair treatment.
01:47So what the nurses, what the nursing association is asking for is equity.
01:53We are asking for fair treatment.
01:55We do not want to be in any contentious fight.
01:58We have things, we have to battle with lack of resources on the ward.
02:02We have to battle with saving patients every day.
02:05We don't want to be fighting up and running in the sun.
02:07No, but we have to, because we have to take care of our families and our loved ones.
02:13Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
