To pay for the new salary scale for nurses, rates for hospital services, including daily hospital rates, will be increased, according to Lloyd Pool. The chairman of the Algemene Bond van Personeel van het Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo (ABPLAZ, General Union of Personnel of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo) told Key News this. “The money has to come from somewhere else,” Pool said.
According to the trade unionist, more adjustments are on the way. “We are not completely finished with the talks yet,” he said. For the time being, the members are satisfied with the first step that has been taken, he said. Further negotiations still have to be held with the government on secondary employment conditions, such as housing and the further development of nurses.
Pool said: “It has been indicated that nurses have difficulty paying for their education themselves. That problem will probably be resolved, meaning they will no longer have to pay for their own education. Conditions will be attached to that.”
Housing was also discussed during the talks. According to Pool, the higher salary can quickly evaporate if nurses have to pay as much as USD 400 in rent out of a salary of USD 700.
The ABPLAZ chairman, who spoke on behalf of other trade unions in the healthcare sector, said nurses had to receive higher pay sooner or later. “I still believe that it cannot be the case that someone works eight to ten hours in healthcare and then has to have another job to make ends meet. I do not think that is right.”
Pool hopes that the higher gross salaries, ranging from USD 700 to USD 1,000, will increase interest in working in healthcare. “There is understaffing in healthcare, particularly in nursing, but also in other disciplines. Some analysts have also left. We hope that people will once again become interested in healthcare and be motivated to work in hospitals, so that the quality of healthcare services can be improved,” the trade union leader said.
