R 241948Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6473
INFO USDOC WASHDC
EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS NASSAU 000388 
 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND EB 
SANDO DOMINGO FOR USFCS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PHUM PGOV BF
SUBJECT:  NURSES SICK OVER BUDGET CUTS 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Nurses have ended a two-week, mass sick-out over 
proposed budget cuts, but talks continue on resolving their dispute 
with the GCOB.  Nurses protested the GCOB's elimination of an annual 
salary increase and promised health insurance plan and threatened to 
strike.  The GCOB refused talks until the nurses returned to work 
June 22, denouncing the sick-out as "illegal".  END SUMMARY. 
 
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NURSES STAGE MASS SICK-OUT 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Nurses at public hospitals in New Providence and other 
islands began to call in sick to work beginning June 8.  Mass 
absences seriously disrupted normal public health services and 
closed several clinics, which were reportedly back to normal June 22 
on the eve of talks with the government.  The action came despite an 
apparent agreement between the GCOB and the Bahamas Nurses Union 
president, Cleola Hamilton, over planned budget cuts announced by 
Prime Minister Ingraham May 27 in his annual budget communication. 
 
¶3.  (U) The union chief initially said that nurses understood the 
government's predicament in the current economic crisis and agreed 
that the 4% annual pay raise and new health insurance coverage would 
be deferred this year and re-allocated when the economy rebounds. 
The union head later complained that the nurses felt snubbed by the 
government after PM Ingraham said in the House of Assembly "we are 
not doing it for the nurses, but we are increasing it for the 
police". 
 
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GCOB CONDEMNS "ILLEGAL" ACTION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U) The GCOB first threatened the nurses with pay cuts, then 
obtained a court injunction June 15 ordering the nurses to return to 
work.  Following a fruitless meeting on June 17 with Health Minister 
Hubert Minnis, the union chief said nurses were beginning to lose 
hope in the government and were prepared to fight for their due.  PM 
Ingraham responded that the government would not negotiate with 
those engaged in what he described as "illegal" activities. 
According to law, public servants in essential government services, 
such as nurses and the security forces, may not engage in industrial 
action. 
 
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CONFUSION OVER EXISTING 
CONTRACT AS TALKS OPEN 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Media reports revealed that the industrial agreement between 
the nurses union and the Public Hospitals Authority, which provided 
for the pay raise and new health insurance at the root of the 
dispute, was never properly registered with the Industrial Tribunal. 
 The Director of Labor said the agreement was still in draft form 
after two years because suggested amendments were never made, 
rendering the contract legally unenforceable.  The GCOB said it 
intended to honor the "spirit" of the contract, nevertheless.  The 
nurses union said it had asked the Minister of Labor for leave to 
conduct a strike vote, a statement which the Minister disputed on 
the eve of direct talks. 
 
¶6.  (U) The Ministers of Health and Labor met with the nurses union 
representatives June 23, but did not resolve the dispute.  Talks are 
scheduled to resume July 1.  Nurses appear willing to forego the pay 
increase, but are seeking a transitional agreement on health 
insurance until the GCOB is able to fund the promised plan, as early 
as July 2010. The GCOB countered with a proposal for free access for 
nurses to private ward care at the main public hospital in Nassau 
for work related illnesses only. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The disputed industrial action appears to have ended when 
the nurses blinked, short of sick days and public sympathy, though 
they succeeded in dragging the GCOB to the negotiating table.  While 
the opposition has sharply criticized the GCOB's handling of the 
sick-out, the nurses union does not appear to have garnered 
widespread public support.  Bahamians have not shown sympathy for 
disruptive union actions in recent years, especially in the current 
economic climate.  Given the circumstances, the nurses are likely to 
accept the GCOB's alternative proposal. 
 
ZUNIGA-BROWN