Doctors at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital staged protest action on Tuesday in support of their demands for the payment of outstanding salaries and for job security, the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) has confirmed.
DPSU General Secretary Thomas Letang told reporters that some doctors have not been paid for an extended period, and that the union has been pressing the hospital administration and the Government for a resolution. The protest action, he said, reflects growing frustration among medical staff who have continued to report for duty while their pay remains in arrears.
The dispute centres on two main issues: the settlement of outstanding salaries owed to doctors, and guarantees over the security of their positions. The union has argued that without clear assurances on both fronts, the hospital risks losing trained medical personnel to posts overseas or in the private sector.
The Dominica China Friendship Hospital is the island's principal referral health facility, and any disruption to its medical staff carries direct consequences for patients across the country. The hospital receives referrals from health centres and district clinics in parishes from Portsmouth to Grand Bay and the Kalinago Territory, so a prolonged dispute would be felt well beyond Roseau.
Letang said the union has sought meetings with the relevant authorities and has been raising the matter on behalf of its members. He indicated that doctors are prepared to continue their action until their concerns are addressed, though he did not specify the form any further industrial action might take.
The DPSU represents a broad cross-section of public officers in Dominica, and the doctors' grievance is the latest in a series of labour matters the union has taken up with Government ministries and statutory bodies. Public sector pay and conditions have been a recurring subject of negotiation in recent years, particularly as the cost of living and the demand for skilled professionals have risen.
Health care is among the services most sensitive to industrial action in a small island state, where the options for alternative treatment are limited and where specialist staff are difficult to replace at short notice. The hospital depends on its doctors not only for emergency and inpatient care but also for outpatient clinics, surgery and referrals abroad.
The union has not said how many doctors joined Tuesday's protest, nor how long the action is expected to last. It is also not yet clear whether the hospital has adjusted its services in response. Patients with appointments at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital are advised to confirm arrangements with the hospital directly before travelling.
The DPSU has said it will keep members informed as discussions continue. The union's position is that the payment of salaries already earned is not a matter for negotiation, and that job security is essential if Dominica is to retain the medical professionals it has trained.
Efforts to obtain a response from the hospital administration and from the Ministry of Health were continuing. The union has indicated it remains open to dialogue, but that its members expect concrete commitments rather than further delays.
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