No termination of Linden Hospital workers; contracts to be renewed

Last Updated on Friday, 22 April 2022, 8:57 by Denis Chabrol

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Friday said he has instructed that the contracts of more than 30 workers at the Linden Hospital Complex be renewed and that letters informing them that their services would no longer be required be rescinded.

“This was action taken at the level of the Linden Hospital but when I learnt about it, we have since rescinded those letters, so nobody is going home,” he told Demerara Waves Online News/ News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM.

He said “I told” the Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Hospital Complex, Mr. Rudy Small to withdraw the estimated 27 letters. Mr. Small earlier Friday disconnected the call when he was contacted to ascertain the reason for the non-renewal of the contracts.

Asked what was the reason given for the initial decision to discontinue the employment of those workers, the Health Minister said it was partly due to a number of departmental heads not being satisfied with performance. “But I told them renew the peoples’ contracts and then we’ll have a better understanding of what it is so if, indeed, there is poor performance, then that can be evaluated and dealt with,” he said.

Prior to the Health Minister’s instruction to rescind the letters, the Regional Chairman of Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice), Derron Adams had condemned that decision to send home the workers from June 1, 2022, saying that it had amounted to “victimisation” by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration. “Carpenters, cleaners, porters, kitchen staff and other categories of personnel are now joining the long list of the recently unemployed at the hands of this government, mere weeks after that very government had acknowledged that there was a need for jobs in Linden and promised to provide 800 ‘temporary’ jobs,” he had said.

The Health Minister said the Linden Hospital Complex has “latitude” for performing administrative functions but “we would expect some level of consultation” in doing such things “but apparently there has been a breakdown so that is why we say these things should be consulted with us so that we can take reasonable decisions.”