FOLLOWING the intervention of a well-respected manager, patient care assistants (PCA) at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine ceased a placard-bearing protest at the institution on Wednesday morning, but threatened stronger industrial action if money in lieu of uniforms for 2019 to 2022 is not paid over by the end of April.

They told the Jamaica Observer that after going back and forth with the Ministry of Finance on the matter, they were promised payment by the end of March. With that deadline missed, they were given another deadline for the end of April.

Trade unionist Helene Davis-Whyte said Wednesday’s protest did not disrupt the operations at the institution, but indicated there will be disruptions if the promise is not kept.

“If the promise is not honoured at the end of April then the hospital could be looking at a full-blown industrial action,” Davis-Whyte told the Observer.

Chief delegate at the hospital, Theresa Francis, said, “if they don’t keep their word, you will know and understand.”

She explained that from 2019 to 2020, the PCAs received no material to build uniforms and therefore became entitled to the payment in lieu. She said they did not receive any uniforms either during the period 2020 to 2021.

“We did not get any uniform, so we were again entitled to money in lieu of. Via the union, it was elevated to the Ministry of Health and then to the Ministry of Finance. Finance sent an order back to Spanish Town Hospital asking them to do costing. We then sent it back to the Ministry of Finance for auditing and payment. This was in February 2021. Up to date, we have not got anything.

“Before all of this, we were promised that we would have been paid March month end and that we would get the material, but these arrangements fell through with nobody saying anything to us. It was when my union personnel called the South East Regional Health Authority and that was when we realised we would not have been paid. That was the time when they tried to ask verbally for extension.

“The union instructed them that they should have sent a letter, which they did not at the time. The letter was sent this morning after we came out to start our protest. HR, the parish manager, our director of nursing services came and spoke to us as delegates. When we took back the information to the group, the group was not satisfied. A manager spoke to the group and because the parish manager is somebody who we are willing to work with, we agreed for the end of April.”