By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterTHE ISLAND'S medical technologists stopped working yesterday, demanding equal pay with Government scientific officers doing similar work, putting at risk hundreds of patients in public hospitals islandwide.
Medical technologists are responsible for laboratory tests, including pap smears, and analysing blood collected by the Blood Bank, which is already hit by a critical shortage of blood.
Sectors affected by the strike include the National Public Health Laboratory, the National Blood Transfusion Service (Blood Bank) and laboratories at the Bustamante Children's Hospital and other public hospitals, particularly those in the Corporate Area and in St. James.
The technologists say they are seeking a response from the Government to their request to be paid the same as scientific officers doing similar duties. The Gleaner understands that this stems from a 1998 health sector job reclassification of various workers in Government service.
"The strike started this morning and it will continue until the Ministry of Health comes to the reality that they have to compensate us," said Leford Bennett, chief delegate for the technologists, who are represented by the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP).
The Ministry of Health has reported the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Gresford Smith, director of Industrial Relations and Allied Services at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, confirmed yesterday evening that a meeting is scheduled for 10 o'clock this morning at its North Street office, Kingston, in a bid to bring about a resumption.
The Ministry admitted that the work of the technologists was listed
Demanding same pay as
Gov't scientific officers
among the Essential Services and, therefore, the strike was illegal under Section 9 of the Essential Services Act. This would normally require that the minister refer the dispute directly to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal, with the possibility of the tribunal ordering an immediate work resumption. If the dispute is not resolved at this morning's meeting, it is expected that the minister would immediately refer it to the IDT and an emergency meeting called sometime today.
"What we are saying is that we are working with these people and we know that these anomalies exist. Even a letter from the Ministry (of Health) shows that they are doing the same job as we are, (so) we are saying that we should be compensated thus. They are getting more money than us and we have to train them," Mr. Bennett said on behalf of the technologists.
Scientific officers' salaries start at more than $700,000 per annum, while medical technologists start at $463,000 per annum, he said.
The medical technologists disagree also with suggestions from the Ministry of Health to reclassify scientific officers doing the same duties as the med techs, within the medical technology scale, advice the ministry reportedly got from the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the pay negotiations.
"This should not happen, because you have to be registered to practise as a medical technologist. You have to be trained in all the disciplines of medical technology and you have to do a one-year internship," Mr. Bennett added.
He said the scientific officers were not registered as medical technologists within the supplementary medicine profession.
Claudette Aldred, blood donor organiser at the Blood Bank, 21 Slipe Pen Road, Kingston, said the strike had not affected the processing of blood, because units of blood collected up to December 31, 2002, the last working day before yesterday, were already processed.
However, she could give no guarantee about today. She said that some supervisors were still working despite the strike.
Mrs. Aldred said that any blood collected yesterday would be stored for processing today. She is appealing to the public to continue coming in to give blood, because while response to the December 30, 2002 blood appeal was good, the number of donors and units of blood collected had fallen.
