NASSAU, Bahamas — The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) yesterday announced a new eight-hour shift system for nurses to begin on December 10, the Nassau Guardian reported October 25.
“The new shift system will eliminate the inequity caused by the four nights on/four nights off shift system which results in night duty nurses working only 157 days per year on average, compared to 234 days per year on average for all other nurses,” said PHA Managing Director Catherine Weech, during a press conference. “The new shift system establishes a 40-hour work week and an eight-hour daily shift as opposed to the current 10-hour shift for night duty nurses.”
Ms. Weech added that in consideration of this, the PHA “has agreed with the Bahamas Nurses Union to pay all nurses scheduled to work between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., an amount of $1.75 per hour in addition to their standard base hourly pay.”
“These changes to the work schedules of nursing staff [are] a testament to the PHA’s ongoing commitment to ensure that its human resources policies are consistent with ratified labor agreements and regional and international standards of practice,” she said.
The new system comes as a result of ongoing talks with the nurses’ union. https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/10/25/new-shift-system-for-nurses/
