Medical consultants, Gov't ordered by IDT to maintain normalcy amid $200m overpayment dispute

Medical consultants employed by the Government have been ordered to abandon any industrial action planned to protest a decision by health authorities to recoup a disputed overpayment totalling nearly $200 million through salary deductions.

The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness have also been ordered not to go ahead with the salary deductions.

The orders were made on Tuesday by a three-member panel of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT), according to a statement from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

It is reported that the medical consultants are incensed over what they feared was an “imminent” move by SERHA to begin salary deductions to recoup the disputed overpayments.

SERHA’s position on the overpayment was reportedly based on a legal opinion it obtained.

The Ministry of Finance subsequently agreed that the monies should be recouped and “they were to start imminently deducting it from their salaries”, a senior Government official told The Gleaner.

The issue was referred to the IDT by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for settlement.

The IDT said it was satisfied that industrial action “has been threatened in contemplation or furtherance of the said dispute”.

“This tribunal hereby orders that such industrial action which has been threatened in contemplation or furtherance of the aforesaid industrial dispute shall not take place while the matter is being heard by the tribunal,” it said.

“And if it has taken place, shall cease with immediate effect and that normalcy shall be restored and maintained.”

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