Published 25 January 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
By: Media Source
PM Harris cuts holiday pay of hospital auxiliary workers
Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 25, 2018 – Weekly paid workers at the J.N. France General Hospital are the poorer following a cut in their holiday pay by the Team Unity Government of Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris on the ground that they were being overpaid for the past 10 years by the former Labour administration of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.
Medical practitioner Dr. Terrance Drew disclosed that the holiday pay of each worker has been cut from EC$150 to EC$50.
Minister of Health, Hon. Wendy Phipps, along with an officer from the payroll section, which is headed by a sister of Prime Minister Harris, went to the hospital to inform the workers of the Team Unity Government’s decision.
The auxiliary staff includes maids, orderlies, cooks and cleaners. Sources say staff at the Pogson Medical Center in Sandy Point and the Mary Charles Hospital in Molineux are also affected.
“The auxiliary staff, already earning low wages and who earn it and need all the financial help they can get, when asked for the reason for cutting their holiday pay, were told by the Minister that the Labour Government had been overpaying them for the last 10 years. Dr. Harris and his government cut their holiday pay from $150 to $50,” said Dr. Drew, the Labour Party’s caretaker for St. Christopher 8.
He said the decision of the Timothy Harris government is another indication that the finances of the Team Unity Government is in dire straits and a struggling for money.
“The nurses are being disrespected and treated badly by Dr. Harris and his Team Unity Government. The auxiliary staff is being treated badly and the EMT’s are also being mistreated,” said Dr. Drew.
Photo 1 – Dr. Terrance Drew
Photo 2- Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
