Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Article 5(3) of the Convention. Settlement of disputes. The Committee notes the comments of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), dated 25 February 2010 and transmitted to the Government on 6 April 2010, concerning the application of the Convention. The NAJ refers to the decision of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal of 15 January 2010, which has called upon the Government to immediately fix a date for the implementation of the reclassification exercise for the health sector, and alleges that the Government has failed to comply with that ruling and remains unresponsive to industrial action undertaken by its members.

The Committee understands that the dispute concerning the Government’s alleged failure to implement the reclassification exercise relates to the retroactive payment of pay increase which had been agreed upon in December 2009. It also understands that the protest of NAJ members has so far taken different forms of civil disobedience, such as wearing black armbands or engaging in sickout action, and the Supreme Court has issued an injunction to prevent further industrial action that might result in severe disruptions in public hospitals.

In view of the apparent escalation of the dispute, the Committee wishes to recall that the Convention requires that the settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of terms and conditions of employment of nursing personnel be sought through negotiations between the parties or, in such a manner as to ensure the confidence of the parties involved, through independent and impartial machinery such as mediation, conciliation and voluntary arbitration. This provision reflects the special nature of health care services and seeks to make it unnecessary for the organizations representing nursing personnel to have recourse to such other steps as are normally open to other workers’ organizations in defence of their interests. Moreover, the Committee recalls its previous comment in which it had noted the Government’s indication that despite the Memorandum of Understanding 2006–08 concluded between the NAJ and the Ministry of Health, there had been insufficient negotiations with respect to working conditions, and as a result, hospitals were faced with serious inconvenience, including critical staff shortage in some cases. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of the NAJ. It also asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in order to reach a negotiated solution to the ongoing dispute in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Convention, and to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this respect.