The T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA), has some questions about the $210-million ex-gratia monies promised to health care workers and as such, has made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding the payment.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Health announced that they had started making the ex-gratia payments to health sector employees in regional health authorities and the Ministry of Health.
TTRNA president Idi Stuart said: “We’re actually doing a FOIA because we just want to make sure that monies were allocated and actually reached the intended target because we have had a number of complaints from our membership and outside of our membership, indicating that they got the incorrect amount.”
Stuart said many health workers were disappointed with the amount they received, while some did not receive anything just yet.
“There’s also a number of logistic issues currently, where persons were incorrectly charged more tax than they should, the incorrect amount being paid, but we expect those things to be resolved over the coming weeks and months,” he said.
Stuart stated that “Most persons have been commenting that bonus, that ex-gratia, was already spent three times over even before they got it so that just filled a void. I don’t think many persons are doing much shopping for this Christmas period.”
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