SMMC workers gather at the entrance of the facility on Thursday.
~ Workers to continue wearing black ~
CAY HILL--The Windward Islands Healthcare Union Association (WIHCUA) has issued an ultimatum to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) management, demanding action to address a list of concerns and unresolved issues affecting workers at the hospital.
The ultimatum was presented in a letter to management on Thursday after a scheduled meeting did not take place. The union members left the meeting stating that management was not prepared. WIHCUA President Jacqueline Berkel told reporters that the union has given management until 12:00pm Monday to respond to their grievances.
The workers have been showing their dissatisfaction by wearing black since Tuesday, a visible sign of protest. “We are not on go-slow. We have been wearing black to show our dissatisfaction with what is going on,” Berkel said. “On Tuesday, we were supposed to meet with management. We got an email on Monday afternoon asking to postpone the meeting, which was rescheduled for today [Thursday – Ed.], which was at the last hour and basically when we went to the meeting … they were not prepared for the meeting so the meeting did not continue,” she said, adding that a brief meeting was then called with the union’s members, who were updated on the issues, and they then returned to work.
Berkel highlighted some of the issues that led to this escalation. One concern revolves around immigration issues affecting guest workers at SMMC. Berkel said these workers often face delays in obtaining their permits, which causes frustration and uncertainty. “We have guest workers who have to wait months and months, and sometimes their documents expire and they have to resubmit them,” she said. “We agreed with management that we would tackle this jointly, however, this letter remained in draft form.”
Berkel also raised concerns about the hospital’s pension plan, which is tied to ENNIA, a company that has been battling financial issues. The union has expressed a desire to explore other pension options, but they are still waiting for feedback from SMMC management.
Another issue is the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). She said in the past, COLA adjustments were made on January 1, but that hasn’t been done for the year 2024. “We handed them a letter and gave them a deadline to respond to some of our grievances, and we’re waiting to see what the next step will be. We gave them until Monday at 12:00pm to respond. If not, we will see.”
Berkel stressed that the union moves based on the mandate of its workers, so the next step will be determined by them. “The workers are the ones who decide what our next move is.”
The staff feels disrespected and their morale is being affected. “Staff is in limbo, especially those with their immigration issues. They are expected to work and function while basically they have no documents because they can’t go to the French side, for example, because they don’t know what will happen. Some of the staff are on edge and everybody wants answers,” said Berkel.
WIHCUA Vice President Jules Carty thanked the union members for their continued support and solidarity. He noted that standing up for workers' rights is not easy, but it’s necessary for change. “It’s not easy to get people to stand up, wear black and voice their opinion,” Carty said. “But we’ve had enough. We are standing up and we want our voices to be heard.”
Carty also alluded to concerns raised by the union last year in a meeting with Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor VSA Richinel Brug. “Late last year we met with Minister Brug and we laid out a whole set of points that we are concerned about and we haven’t heard any response as yet. We are hoping that they are still working on it,” he said.
One major issue is the new hospital being built. He said there is no certainty about the transition of workers from the current facility to the new one. “We have a new hospital that is being built, but up until now there is no one in SMMC that can say on 100% security that they will transition from this hospital to that hospital,” said James. “People have mortgages, people have loans, people need to know where their lives are going to be between now and the next five to 10 years … The hospital is not there yet and maybe some can say it’s a bit too premature to have that discussion, but for some people they need to know.”
