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Gleaner/Power 106 News
Labour ministry to meet NAJ members

The Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles has called a meeting with members of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) for tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

The meeting will also include representatives of the finance and public service ministry, the ministry of health and the University Hospital of the West Indies.

The labour minister is hoping to resolve the impasse surrounding the implementation of the ruling of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) on a job evaluation and reclassification exercise for health sector groups.

Last year, the IDT made an award stipulating that the Government confirms a date for the implementation of the reclassification exercise.

The reclassification will result in an increase in pay for the island’s nurses

and the members of the 28 other health sector groups.

However, the failure of the government to implement the IDT ruling has

become a sore point for the nurses who have staged several protests to

register their dissatisfaction.

During a sick out by public sector nurses last week, the labour ministry was forced to seek a 14 day injunction after the action affected operations at some major hospitals.

That injunction expires on March 17.