Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Jamaica (Ratification: 1984)

The Committee notes the latest report submitted by the Government which essentially reproduces the information contained in its previous report.

Articles 2, paragraph 2(b), 3, paragraph 1, and 4 of the Convention. With reference to the reclassification exercise undertaken several years ago which proposed the establishment of nine levels of registered nurses instead of the previous six grades and the repositioning of staff nurses with post-basic courses at a higher level in the salary scale, the Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the final outcome of the discussions held between the Health Review Board and the professional associations concerned. The Committee would be particularly interested in receiving copies of all relevant laws or regulations currently in force establishing the requirements for the practice of nursing and also laying down the basic requirements regarding nursing education and training.

Article 5, paragraph 2. The Committee recalls its previous comments in which it observed that the various collective agreements concluded with nurses’ and midwives’ representative organizations dealt only with pay increases and the readjustment of other fringe benefits and allowances for nursing staff, and requested the Government to indicate whether working conditions, other than remuneration levels, are determined by negotiation. In the absence of any clear reply on this point, the Committee is obliged to reiterate its request for up-to-date and documented information regarding any negotiated agreements regulating non-wage-related employment and working conditions of nursing personnel. While noting that negotiations are usually carried out in a biyearly basis, and that copies of collective agreements were last forwarded in 1993, the Committee asks the Government to transmit together with its next report copies of all collective agreements currently in effect applicable to nursing personnel in the public and private sectors.

Article 6. Further to its previous comments on this point, the Committee once again asks the Government to specify and transmit copies of collective agreements or other relevant instruments regulating each of the subjects covered by this Article of the Convention for nursing personnel employed in the private sector.

Article 7. Further to its previous comments concerning the need to take measures to adapt the legislation on health and safety at work to the particular risk of accidental exposure to HIV/AIDS, the Committee requests the Government to report on any new developments or initiatives on these matters.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that no statistical information regarding the number of registered nurses and midwives has been communicated in the last ten years. It requests therefore the Government to supply full particulars on the number of nurses currently employed in both the public and private sectors, the nurse-to-population ratio, the number of students attending nursing schools and the number of nurses leaving or joining the profession. It would also appreciate receiving all other information relating to the practical application of the Convention, such as copies of official reports examining the employment and working conditions of nursing personnel (for instance, annual reports of the Nursing Council, activity reports of the chief nurse, etc.), as well as any practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention. Finally, with regard to the Government’s earlier statement that the Nurses and Midwives Act, 1964 is undergoing revision, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep it informed of any progress made in this respect.