KHMH Workers Union Members Enter Day Two of Wearing Casual Clothes to Work
It was day two of shorts in protest of shortages at the hospital. The K.H.M.H. workers once again showed up to work wearing casual clothing. President of the K.H.M.H. Workers Union, Andrew Baird, called the media this morning to explain why. News Five’s Marion Ali was there and files this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Workers’ Union members turned out in shorts and their union t-shirts again today. Their president, Andrew Baird, said they had good reasons to do so. In fact, he called out the media to say that the KHMH has been targeting its members since the two sides met on Wednesday to resolve their differences.
Andrew Baird, President, KHMH Workers Union
Andrew Baird
“It was understood from the management team that they would not move forward to anecdote or make any attempt to send home any person. I believe yesterday on the news, the CEO even admit that we had an agreement in that regard. However, five minutes after we left that meeting, we found out from one of our members that she was anecdoted by one of the directors who was in that meeting. And throughout the day, some other members of staff and our union membership received anecdotes.”
The anecdotes Baird mentions are letters union members received about their dress code. But the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, told us that she did indicate to the union’s leadership that the letters would not be placed on the employees’ files. Today, Baird said that their gripe with the hospital’s administration extends beyond just the shortage of supplies and equipment.
Andrew Baird
“We want to ensure that job security for our security officers and doctors who are being placed on fixed-term contracts for one year and onward bases. These contracts are renewed but there are uncertainties for these employees.”
Marion Ali
“The Minister said yesterday there is no collective bargaining agreement in place that would address a lot of these things, so you would be given a six-month period to come up with a draft collective bargaining agreement.”
Andrew Baird
“I’m on the board. The board gave me a secondment of one day per week for six months, which ended in November. If you do the calculation, one day per week for six months is twenty-four days. You can’t draft a CBA in twenty-four days.”
Baird said that until the CBA is drafted, there are other documents that can be used as a guide to how the hospital’s administration and employees operate and work together. These include the hospital’s policies and procedures document. Additionally, there are labor laws. News Five reached out to the Labour Commissioner, Risella Domingo today. However, she informed us that because the discussions are confidential, she would not be able to share the nature of those talks with us at this point. The union had threatened to have a sick-out on Friday, a plan that Baird did not confirm or deny would still happen. Marion Ali reporting for News Five.
