Gov't mulls court action to counter 'sick' nurses

THE MINISTRY of Labour and Social Security says it is willing to go to court to stop high levels of nurse absenteeism throughout the nation's public hospitals.

Information from the ministry yesterday indicated that while no decision had yet been arrived at, it was carefully assessing the situation.

Reports from the Ministry of Health are that Port Maria, Man-deville and Lionel Town hospitals reported that more than 50 per cent of their nurses were out, while the Kingston Public Hospital had to deal with 34 per cent of its nurses being absent. St Ann's Bay Hospital, with 40 per cent of its nurses absent, Annotto Bay Hospital, with 43 per cent, and Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, with 33 per cent, were the others.

The ministry's contingency plans are still in place, with only emer-gency cases being dealt with at some hospitals.

The nurses have been supposedly protesting against the non-implementation of the findings of a job-reclassification exercise and the delay in the payment of retroactive salaries.