Hazard pay provisions must be made for all frontline workers and not just a select few.
Denouncing the current situation which saw nurses from several polyclinics and other medical institutions walking off the job on Friday in protest of not receiving a hazard pay allowance, unlike their colleagues at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Democratic Labour Party’s spokesperson on Labour, Courie Cox, called on government to correct the situation.
“It simply cannot be available for some workers and not all. The nurses who recently downed tools have made that point clear. They are all exposed and working in similar hazardous environments,” he said, while insisting the same consideration must be given to police, custodians assigned to quarantine centres, immigration officers, EMTs, and all other workers on the frontline.
With the recent spike in Covid-19 cases and the subsequent backlog in receiving results, several workers have been self-isolating at home due to exposure, and Cox pointed out that many are receiving threats of termination from their places of employment.
“Staffers from various companies who are in quarantine awaiting delayed results are facing job losses, or are being denied pay for the days away from work due to no fault of their own. With the national 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, persons are leaving their workplaces late and with limited public transport operating are being forced to walk home in some cases,” he said.
Cox therefore called for dialogue at the highest level on behalf of these vulnerable citizens to ensure that their welfare is protected, along with their jobs.
“Sensible logistics must be instituted which allows adequate time for everyone to get home at night. We repeat our call for access to mental health experts in the workplace where needed,” he added.
Cox also took to task what he considered to be the inaction of those responsible for protecting workers’ rights in seeking to help those affected.
“What is appalling is the silence and inaction of the workers’ unions that seemingly are only coming to life when the workers protest. There is also a deafening silence from the Minister of Labour and Barbados Workers’ Union head, Toni Moore, who both now sit at the same political round table. They have failed the people.
“Workers in this country are currently traversing over this pandemic ocean on a small branch, accompanied only by the sound of silence of those paid to agitate on their behalf. The Democratic Labour Party calls on the representatives of Labour to step up,” he argued.