Minister Usher Says Hospital Workers’ Protest May Be Premature

As the union stands prepared to take their protest to Belmopan and escalate their plan of action, the Minister of Public Service, Henry Charles Usher, says that it may all be premature.  After Sunday’s press release by the union, government officials immediately scheduled a meeting with the union for Monday, February 17.  During his appearance on The Morning Show today, Minister Usher indicated that it is his belief that the union’s contentions could be settled without any degree of industrial actions.

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman: “First of all we have to recognize that I don’t think that there is a dispute between KHMH management and the union. The dispute is over on the issue of pension which is with the government, but they are hired their terms and conditions are under the KHMH authority. So that has to be recognized that I don’t see that there is a commercial dispute between the current employer and them. It’s with the former employer. So this talk about potential labor action to me is a bit premature because where is the dispute with your employer? But there’s still an issue, and that issue has to do with their pension. And I think it is an important issue. It is an issue that I haven’t been involved in any of the discussions with them, I mean, as Minister of Public Service and having to look at other public officers throughout the system and try to work out their issues I am familiar with what is happening but I haven’t really been a part of the negotiation. I do know that the Minister of Health had engaged with the Minister of Labor and with the Labor Department to try to resolve it but we have to remember that there’s not a particular dispute there. The issue of the pension is one where when the authority was created I believe in the early 2000s, 2001, the employees that were working there were public officers at the time and they were given the opportunity or the choice whether they wanted to accept early retirement, accept a gratuity, a payout as they call it, a cash out or something like that they called it, and then go under the terms and conditions of the authority. If they wanted to remain public officers and some of them had already been working for more than 15 years so they were pensionable and those persons would, they are the ones that would qualify for a pension.”

The union’s core issue surrounds pension changes that took effect in 2001 when KHMH became an Authority.