Allwood-Anderson
REPRESENTATIVES OF the NURSES ASSOCIATION of Jamaica (NAJ) are to again meet Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Omar Davies to discuss alternatives to the current wage proposal
This is following their failure to persuade Dr. Davies at a meeting yesterday morning to improve the level of increase that is being offered to the nurses.
According to NAJ President Edith Allwood-Anderson, the association's executives were to meet late yesterday to examine areas such as location incentives, special responsibilities for professional nurses, among other things to make specific recom-mendations to the Government.
"The minister has indicated to the Jamaican public that he can not meet the request of the association," Mrs. Allwood Anderson said. "However, he is willing to explore with us other areas on the claim that he will able to improve."
Mrs. Allwood-Anderson said the NAJ would be presenting the alternatives to the Finance Minister for a response from him early next week.
"The whole question of the nurses' campaign is on hold until further notice," she said.
In the meantime, she said the meeting with Minister of Health Horace Dalley was on non-monetary aspects of their wage claims.
"I examined what the ministry could do in terms of transportation, appointments, vacation leave. There are some areas that the ministry will have to discuss and negotiate with other ministries," she said. Among those are the question of appointments, which wll have to be discussed with the Public Services Commission.
On Thursday, the NAJ president ordered all nurses to resume normal duties after almost a week of protest action. Several hospitals were severely impacted by the decision to resort to protest action.
