KHMHA Workers Union Pushes Ahead with Industrial Action Despite Labour Warning

The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority Workers Union (KHMHAWU) is pressing forward with its planned industrial action, despite receiving a formal caution from the Labour Department regarding the legality of protest activities in the essential healthcare sector.

Today, union members participated in a coordinated show of unity by wearing their official T-shirts and sharing group photos as part of a sensitization campaign.

The move marks the beginning of the union’s phased industrial strategy under the theme: “United for Dignity – Stronger Together.”

The union’s plan outlines three escalating levels of action:

Level 1: Peaceful workplace demonstrations, media outreach, and a reduced pace of work (“go-slow”).

Level 2: Continued protests and “work-to-rule,” where members perform only tasks explicitly required by their job descriptions with no voluntary overtime.

Level 3: Issuing an official 21-day strike notice.

According to KHMHAWU, their next step is a demonstration scheduled for tomorrow at the KHMHA parking lot.

However, this comes in direct conflict with a letter from Labour Commissioner Rissela Dominguez-Patt, dated May 28, 2025. The letter reminds the union that under the Settlement of Disputes in Essential Services Act, no form of industrial action including go-slows or demonstrations can be legally carried out without first reporting the dispute to the Minister of Labour and allowing a 21-day period to elapse.