The Ministry of Health & Wellness says it has taken note of the concerns of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) about the payment of public health nurses who worked at the Vaccination blitz sites in March and April.

Approximately 4,000 persons, inclusive of public health nurses, were engaged as blitz workers at Vaccination sites across the island on March 27, April 3 and April 9-13, 2021, the ministry said. 

A release from the ministry stated that the engagement of the persons was on a stipend basis, and to date some 83 per cent of the persons have received their full payments. 

Of the outstanding payments, the ministry said 32 are being processed; 60 are without the required banking information, and 102 have been rejected by the Government Financial Management System due to dormant bank accounts and incorrect account information.

The ministry said it is in contact with the relevant persons to resolve the issues.

In the meantime, the ministry said it is categorically refuting an assertion “that blitz workers have been underpaid”.

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