Finance Minister Colm Imbert has promised to investigate the reasons why delays in the payments of salaries for nurses have been happening.
Idi Stuart, president of the T& Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA) said the minister called him yesterday and told him that he was “a bit concerned after reading an article in the T&T Guardian that nurses had been paid late for the third straight month without any explanation or apology.”
Stuart said the minister told him “he will look into the reasons why the delays in payments were happening.”
Imbert, according to Stuart, said “the Ministry of Finance forwarded payments to the Ministry of Health on the 12th of August and 14th of September and he could not understand why there was a delay in payments for those two months.”
Stuart said the Minister indicated that he “understood the delay this month because the ministry only sent the cheque last week Friday, and by the time the Regional Health Authorities got it and processed it to the banks that would have led to the delay.”
Stuart said, “We appreciate that he was that responsive.“
He said they also “appreciated” the minister’s “direct intervention and hope it does not continue for the future months going forward.”
PSA president Watson Duke said he had received no complaints yesterday and it seemed that everyone had been paid.
Other unions also confirmed that salaries had been received by workers.
Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein confirmed that cheques for the payment of CEPEP workers had been disbursed.
CEPEP chairman Clyde Paul said workers will be paid today (Wednesday.)