The Tribune

BACK in October 2020 in this column, we wrote about a dispute between nurses and the Public Hospitals Authority.

Even then, we wrote that it seemed “some disputes never go far away – even in a pandemic”.

We continued: “If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is a dispute that has been rumbling on for more than two years. The pandemic – and the rush to acclaim healthcare professionals for all they are doing for us in the fight against COVID-19 – seemed to have muted matters, but here we are again.”

As you will see from the front page of today’s Tribune, that last line – here we are again – is the current situation once more.

The Bahamas Nurses Union is to hold a strike vote – while there is an industrial agreement, it has not been signed for more than three years.

Union president Amancha Williams said: “There is no way that the union should be operating without a current industrial agreement.”

She went on to catalogue a host of problems over health and safety hazards, mould, toilets that won’t flush, nurses having to come to work in Abaco bringing their own water, and more.

The details of the dispute might be lengthy, but the summary is short – it is long past time for these matters to be sorted out.

So let’s get on with it. The Davis administration came into power on a claim of being union friendly – and in this case the agreement has already been done, so just sort it out.

Nurses have been at the frontline looking after our healthcare throughout the pandemic, sometimes at the cost of their own health. Even without that, it would have been time to resolve this – but given the sacrifices they have made and the environment they have been asked to work in, we owe them even more.

From union to union, there seems to be so many matters that drag on for years and years, so long that half the issues are outdated by the time anything actually gets signed.

Ideally, we would see a sea change so that issues did not have to be so drawn out – but more than anyone, our nurses deserve an end to any uncertainty right now.

We would note that we are already facing a new surge in cases of COVID, and will be needing the services of our nurses very soon. Resolve the industrial dispute so they can concentrate on saving lives.

Cruise ships

Now for some good news – the cruise ships arriving in our ports are at almost full capacity.

There is a lot of positive talk about people wanting to get back out and about in the world after the confines of COVID, and this is tangible evidence to back that up.

The cruise port’s chief executive, Michael Maura, pointed to the last year before COVID – and the number of ships arriving this year so far is up even on 2019.

He said: “The positive trend is there. That’s certainly good news.”

Good news indeed – and long may it continue as we hope for a full rebound of our economy.

Returning tourists means more income, more jobs, more prospects, more opportunities for entrepreneurs, more chance of avoiding the financial woes our economy has faced in recent years.

Every time one of those ships pulls into port, it’s another step on the road back to where we were before the pandemic.

The next step? That would be making the most of those arrivals and finding ways to encourage more spending on land. Now we’ve got the tourists back, let’s make sure everyone benefits.