Jamaica’s public-sector doctors are providing emergency care only for 24 hours from 8am today, as the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) turns up the pressure on the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) over a long-delayed overtime ruling.
Main image: DGBN graphic. Photo: Stethoscopes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The disruption runs until 8am on Saturday 3 October. The association has warned patients across the public health system to expect longer waits, scaled-back services and delays to procedures.
Deadline passes, doctors escalate
The action follows the JMDA’s 2 October deadline for the tribunal to hand down its award, after doctors demanded a timeline for the J$31bn overtime ruling. The dispute centres on the Emergency Duty Allowance and compensation for extra hours worked by doctors.
The JMDA is seeking J$31 billion in retroactive overtime payments. The Government’s own calculation puts the figure at J$23 billion.
In a statement issued late on Thursday, JMDA president Dr Jubilee Brown-Service said the association “cannot guarantee normalcy” while the action lasts. She said doctors had been working at the same overtime rates since 2021, which she called unacceptable, and urged the tribunal to issue its award without further delay.
Six months without a ruling
The doctors closed their case on 1 April after submitting more than 170 pieces of evidence, and have now waited around six months for a decision. Jamaica’s Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act provides for an award within 21 days of a dispute being referred, or as soon as practicable where that is not possible.
The IDT has defended its handling of the case. In a statement on Wednesday, the tribunal accepted that unusual delays could erode public confidence and said prompt awards were a core part of its job. But it argued that complex matters can require extensive review of exhibits and legal authorities, insisting that justice must also be careful. It said it remained committed to fair settlements while improving the speed of its decisions.
What it means for patients
According to The Gleaner, the Health Ministry says regional health authorities have put systems in place to limit the impact on patients. The JMDA says it has activated protocols to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes during the 24-hour period.
Anyone with a non-urgent appointment at a public hospital or clinic today should expect delays, while emergency cases will continue to be seen.
Why it matters
Keeping doctors in post is one of the toughest challenges facing health systems across the Caribbean and Africa, with trained physicians and nurses regularly recruited to the UK, the United States and Canada. Jamaica has itself begun looking abroad for staff, recently welcoming its first cohort of Ghanaian healthcare workers.
How the IDT rules, and how quickly, will be watched closely by health workers across the region as a test of whether governments can hold on to the professionals their public hospitals depend on.