Former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has issued a sharp rebuke against the current government for effectively slashing nurses’ incomes by thousands of dollars a year, while simultaneously expressing disbelief at union leaders for defending the cuts.
During a recent broadcast, Gonsalves highlighted the severe financial impact of the new administration’s austerity policies on healthcare workers.
Under the previous Unity Labour Party (ULP) government, nurses received a $500 monthly tax-free allowance, which amounted to a significant $6,000 annually. However, the current New Democratic Party (NDP) government allowed this benefit to expire on December 31, 2025, and chose not to renew it, leaving each affected nurse $6,000 poorer by the end of the year.
Gonsalves noted that the ULP had entirely different plans for the nursing sector’s financial future. He stated that his administration had intended not only to continue the $6,000 annual allowance but also to implement a 5% salary increase and raise the tax-free income threshold by an additional $2,000. According to Gonsalves, these combined measures would have left the average staff nurse more than $8,000 better off.
Beyond his criticism of the government’s fiscal choices, Gonsalves directed heavy fire at the response from the workers’ own representatives. When asked by a caller if the union had spoken out against the loss of the allowance, Gonsalves revealed that the union had actually defended the government’s actions.
He pointed specifically to the leader of the Nurses Association, who also holds a top executive position within the Public Service Union. According to Gonsalves, the union leader dismissed the financial hit as a “mere procedural matter,” arguing that because the previous government had initially granted the allowance for 2024 and 2025, the new government simply did not renew it. Gonsalves condemned this stance, criticizing the union leader for failing to acknowledge the non-renewal as a tangible financial loss for the nurses.
Gonsalves called it “unbelievable” and “incredible” that the president of the union did not publicly rebuke the Nurses Association leader for defending the government’s decision to withhold the funds.
These cuts to nurses’ compensation are being framed by the former Prime Minister as part of a broader, dangerous pattern of austerity by the new administration. He warned that stripping away these financial safety nets while the country faces skyrocketing inflation and impending price hikes on everyday necessities will cause severe economic pain for public servants and the working class