The labour minister Pearnel Charles is now meeting with members of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) to resolve the impasse over a job reclassification exercise.

The meeting includes representatives of the finance and public service ministry, the ministry of health and the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

The nurses and the government have been at odds over the implementation of the ruling of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) on the job evaluation and reclassification exercise for health sector groups.

Last year, the IDT ruled that the Government should confirm a date for the implementation of the reclassification exercise.

The failure of the government to implement the IDT ruling has become an issue for the nurses who have staged several protests to register their dissatisfaction.

NAJ president Edith Allwood-Anderson says she does not have very high expectations of today’s meeting.

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.

The injunction expires on March 17.