Nurses and other staff at the Mount St John’s Medical Centre (MSJMC) have been paid for the two-week period ending April 15.
However, there was no indication when they will receive their remuneration for the second half of the month.
The workers, particularly nurses, had been complaining of the consistent late payment of salaries, and on Wednesday one nurse turned to Facebook entertainment page ‘Troll Antigua’ to voice her discontent.
She expressed her frustration, and made it known she was struggling to meet her commitments to a mortgage, bills and the welfare of her children.
However, at its usual Wednesday meeting, the Cabinet of Antigua & Barbuda took a decision to set aside $1 million to settle late payments owed hospital staff.
Government’s Chief of Staff, Lionel “Max” Hurst made the revelation Thursday, on OBSERVER AM.
“Once the Minister of Health discovers that nurses are upset with being paid late and wants to solve that problem, he brings it to Cabinet and the monies will be forthcoming,” he told listeners.
The money will be taken directly from the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), the chief of staff said.
Hurst said that there is nothing unusual about the late payment issue being discussed at Cabinet level, as the Gaston Browne-led administration has struggled with keeping public sector payments up to date.
