Nurse and husband form union to represent RHA employees

A nurse and her medical orderly husband have formed a trade union for Regional Health Authority (RHA) monthly-paid workers.

Rhea St John-Acosta and husband Andy Acosta say for years they were members of the Public Service Association (PSA) only to learn that the PSA could not negotiate on their behalf.

The couple studied Industrial Relations at the Ciprani Labour College and now they have formed the Unified Health Sector Workers' Union (UHSWU.)

In an interview with Newsday, St John-Acosta says their aim is to represent monthly-paid workers who had been left without representation for years.

“As employees of the RHAs we were misinformed by the PSA and believed that they could bargain for us as RHA workers. Eventually we recognized that for almost 25 years, we were being misled and that the PSA does not and cannot look after us in a holistic way,” she said.

“We noticed that we do not benefit from the basic things that Ministry of Health workers and those who transferred over to the RHA or in fact any worker belonging to a union with recognised majority union status benefit from such as health plans or terms of employment.”

She said UHSWU received their registration certificate on May 23 from the Registrar of Trade Unions. Acosta was named interim chairman and St John-Acosta interim general secretary.

She said the union will have its first election on May 23, 2019 when members can vote for an executive.

“Right now we have a little over 150 members from Siparia, San Fernando, Point Fortin and one from Icacos. The UHSWU will represent all monthly paid RHA workers with the exception of doctors, who already have representation.”

She said so far, they have received a lot of positive feedback from workers.

“We would have been active in the PSA for years so the workers know us and the feedback is very good.”