GUYANA-LABOUR-Nurse strike in support of payment of gratuities

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has accused the government of reneging on a promise to pay outstanding gratuities to nurses, who on Wednesday began strike action in support of their demands. Chairman of the GPSU branch at the Linden Hospital Complex, Winston Luke, said that the negotiations on the timely payment for the nurses had broken down and that an estimated 75 workers should have been paid GUY$6 million (One Guyana dollar = US$0.01 cents) with their March salaries. But he said that the Ministry of Health had informed that it only had one million dollars available even though it had promised last weekend to provide at least three million by Tuesday.