Former Finance Minister Camilo Gonsalves said reports have emerged that the 5% supplementary non-taxable income previously provided to nurses, nursing assistants, and nursing aids has been discontinued by the new administration.
On Monday he mentioned hearing from a nurse and two other sources that the supplement was not paid in January or February of the current year, While acknowledging this as “hearsay,” Gonsalves emphasizes it comes from three different individuals.
Gonsalves said the supplement was first announced in October 2023 by then-Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves to address specific challenges in the nursing profession. It was paid throughout 2024 and 2025. The previous administration had promised to make this 5% increase permanent and tax-free starting in 2026.
Gonsalves provided “maths” to illustrate the loss, stating that an average mid-level staff nurse, earning approximately $41,640 annually, received about $173 per month ($2,082 per year) from this supplement.
Although the current government provided a $2,000 one-off bonus, Gonsalves argued that nurses are still in a net loss position because they lost the $2,082 annual supplement and missed out on projected salary increases of 4% to 5% that were anticipated for 2026.
Consequently, the Gonsalves calculated that nurses are roughly $2,200 worse off than they would have been under the previous administration’s plan.
Gonsalves calls on the Nurses Association to seek official clarity on whether the discontinuation is a “technical delay” or a permanent change. Furthermore, he requests that the government immediately and retroactively reinstate the 5% supplement for the approximately 750 to 800 affected health workers.
The former finance minister warns that removing these salary incentives and delaying increases could lead to a “flight of nurses” to other countries like the United Kingdom or Canada, which would be detrimental to the staffing of local hospitals and clinics.