DPSU meets with health practitioners to discuss Hospital Authority Bill

Thomas Letang is General Secretary of the DPSU

The Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU), Thomas Letang, is meeting with health practitioners this afternoon to hold discussions as it relates to the establishment of a Hospital Authority Bill to be implemented at the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital.

Letang told Dominica News Online (DNO) during an interview on Tuesday that the union has the responsibility to engage those who may be affected.

“As you know there is a bill entitled and to provide for the establishment of the Dominica hospital authority, the administration and management of hospitals and other health facilities and other matters related thereto,” he said. “We have copies of that and what we have decided is to call all health professionals, people working at the hospital because it is going to affect them.”

He continued, “While we support the need for improved performance and efficiency we have to look at the effect that changes will have on different professionals and other health workers operating at the hospital and we felt that even if we have been invited to comment on the Bill, what is being proposed that we have the responsibility to engage those who are going to be affected in the discussion.”

He said a lawyer will also be present at the meeting so that certain things can be cleared up and when the union presents its response, it would be professional.

Also of great importance, Letang stated, are those who will become employees after the Act has taken effect.

“Because their terms and conditions of employment will be totally different,” he pointed out.

“So you will be having two sets of people at the institutions, people carrying out the same duties, same roles, same responsibilities, but there are terms and conditions of employment based on what is being proposed will be different,” he explained.

With what is being proposed, he stated, the hospital will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health but instead, will be run and managed by the board.

Letang doesn’t think that any responsible union can be against being engaged or partnering with the government to ensure that there is increased performance at the workplace, “but one also has to take into consideration that changes have to be such that they are not going to negatively impact on the employees.”

Letang believes that even with the new changes, public officers, both current and new, can still continue to enjoy the benefits which they have traditionally enjoyed.

“Right now as an executive, we are seriously studying the implication that it will have for health,” he said. “We are looking at this thing on a very wide scope.”

Letang said the union looks forward to a large turnout at the meeting was scheduled to start at 3:00 pm.

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1 Comment

  1. me
    September 10, 2020

    Thomas Letang the paper TIGER :mrgreen: :!: !

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