Some vaccination blitz workers still unpaid

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dunstan Bryan, says some 50 vaccination blitz workers have still not been paid.

Addressing the issue at a press conference this morning, Bryan said that the delay may be due to internal or external factors depending on the affected individuals.

“Because of some issues, whether it is related to banking information, or the reporting from the health regions around their payments, or internal issues with us and the Accountant General, there are still some persons who have not been paid. We are investigating each instance of non-payment,” Bryan said.

The update follows a disclosure from the Ministry of Health in June that, of the 4,000 persons who were engaged as blitz workers earlier this year, 3,320 had received full payment up to that time.

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary also addressed concerns about outstanding December salaries for healthcare personnel in the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).

Bryan said that the payroll for that health region should be uploaded to the Ministry's database in short order.

However, he did not state how soon the provision of the payroll information should be expected.

Junior doctors were reported on Wednesday morning as being up in arms over late payments of December salaries, with the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) stating that payments should have been dispersed on Tuesday.

JMDA President Dr Mindi Fitz-Henley had complained that while the Western Regional Health Authority and the Southern Regional Health Authority got their payments, other doctors had not been paid up to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night.

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