With no boots, coveralls and face masks to do their jobs, daily paid workers of the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday staged a protest and threatened to withhold their services until they get protective working gear. At around 11.30 am, the workers marched out of the foyer area of the hospital chanting: "No tools, no work." They were led by chairman of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) Roger Roach, who complained that for the past nine months the workers had no coveralls, boots, proper gloves and face masks.
Saying workers were falling ill because of exposure to bio-hazardous material, Roach said many workers were opting to buy their own safety gear. He added: "You know how many times workers get stick with needles? Right now the hopper in the compactor is not working so we have to offload the bin manually. "We have to use our hand. The people who work in the incinerator have no fireproof coveralls. "Every morning we have to go in there and clean out the ashes and we have no proper clothing or face masks," Roach said.
He added the maintenance vehicle has not been serviced for more than five years. "The vehicle developed engine problems and they packed it down," Roach said. The union leader also said the workers had no proper brooms to sweep the hospital. "The last time we made a request, they send some soft brooms. It mash up in no time," he said.Meanwhile, Labour Relations Officer Gail Hussey said she planned to contact the South West Regional Health Authority to discuss the security issues. "If this matter is not addressed, the entire operations of the hospital will be affected negatively," Hussey said. Contacted for comment, acting chief executive officer at the hospital, Anil Gosine, said a meeting was held with NUGFW executives and the workers would be provided with the necessary gear in the next few weeks. He added following the meeting the workers agreed to go back to work.