Hospital, union to meet
on cost of living payout
CAY HILL--A proposal for the estimated NAf. 800,000 backdated cost-of-living adjustment payout for the more than 100 St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) workers will be broached during a meeting tomorrow, Thursday.
SMMC General Director Dr. George Scot said a proposal had been submitted to the union some time back and would be discussed during a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
He estimated that the backdated amount, since 2000, for each employee could be equivalent to one month’s salary. Asked whether the hospital would be in a financial position to make the huge payout, Scot said, “If I made a proposal I know that I can live up to the proposal.”
He said the hospital would be able to make the payments faster or in one lump sum depending on the method of payment the Social Insurance Bank SVB chose under its new budget agreement with the hospital and how the backdated payment was made.
President of the Windward Islands Health Care Workers Union Julian Lynch said the proposal the union had received stipulated that workers would be paid 25 per cent each month from October to January 2007.
The cost of living adjustment for the year 2000 was 0.5 per cent, in 2001 one per cent, in 2002 it was 0.5 per cent; in 2003 it was 1.6 per cent; in 2004 it was 2.1 per cent and in 2005 it was 3.1 per cent. The amount for this year has not yet been determined.
Lynch said that although the total amount exceeded NAf. 800,000, about half would go towards taxes.
He said once the new budget agreement with the hospital was finalised, the union would proceed to finalise a new Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) with the hospital.
“We discussed this issue already and we’re busy trying to revise the CLA to make things more beneficial for the workers,” Lynch said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “We will also try to see how we can work out the pension plan for the workers.” He said medical centre workers were working under an expired CLA.
Lynch was high in praises for Dr. Scot for the amicable manner in which the two had handled their negotiations for the payment of the cost-of-living adjustment.
“I must compliment Dr. Scot, because he has put a lot of work into this,” Lynch said. “We had a good cooperation with Dr. Scot. Even though we may have had differences of opinion, we always maintained a good working relationship and we were able to put our differences aside and work in the best interest of the medical centre.”
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