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PSU’s Contentions Against Contreras
posted (June 5, 2014)
Last night we told you about the controversy that was caused when the Chief Pharmacist Sharon Anderson was snubbed for a training session at PAHO, and the Director of the Drug Inspectorate Danini Contreras was sent in her place. Emails obtained by 7News show that in mid May when PAHO started the conversation about the training the conversation was between Dr. Carlos Ayala and chief Pharmacist Anderson. One email we saw refers to upgrading the technical procedure to ensure the quality of pharmaceuticals and medial supplies. This conversation continued until the 21st. May when it abruptly ended - and that's because higher-ups at the Ministry of Health gave Dr. Ayala the memo - that the training would be for Contreras not for Anderson.

That's what has the Public Service Union upset and their Industrial Relations Officer Ray Davis expanded on it today:..

Hon. Ray Davis, PSU Industrial Relations Officer
"At the end of the day when the meeting was scheduled she naturally was expecting to be a part of that meeting. She was approached at the level of PAHO. Instructions were given that they should not have communications with her. At the union we found that peculiar because I know of the type of protocol that exists at PAHO and from the information that we got it was a verbal request or directive or however you want to interpret it and that really forced the personnel at PAHO to prevail on the chief pharmacist not to go to the meeting."

Mike Rudon, Ch5
"Why would the chief pharmacist attend when this was a meeting specifically to deal with the enhancement of the drug inspectorate?"

Hon. Ray Davis
"Be that as it may, this structure of the public service is simple man. We don't have to create anything that doesn't exist. She is the person in charge. You have a technical question that you are requesting from an external agency, then you want your people at the apex to be involved. It's as simple as that."

Contreras is also the subject of a labour dispute complaint initiated by the Public Service Union. That process has been through a back and forth because the first notice of dispute was sent in late April, and the Labour commissioner responded by saying that no dispute had been defined. So the PSU sent another notice, clearly defining the issues. Union President Mervyn Blades explained today:...

Mervyn Blades, President - PSU
"We sent a subsequent letter and so we gave them because of the original letter, we gave them a recent one and so we are putting it from that date. The reason why is because when we first sent the letter, it is our understanding that the ministry of health would send it to ministry of labour because it's a labour issue and so we are saying since the ministry and the labour commissioner wants the full details, lets give them the full details, so there is no confusion as to what it is what is the dispute. We clearly define that and we count it from that date. It was sent somewhere about a week or a week and a half ago the most."

Jules Vasquez
"Let's say 11 days you all are expecting....?"

Mervyn Blades, President - PSU
"Some kind of response or some action."

Jules Vasquez
"And if there is no response or action from official then what will you all do?"

Mervyn Blades, President - PSU
"Like everything else in the union we are very democratic. At the beginning when we went to our membership we had ask them how far are they willing to take it and our membership had clearly stated that we are willing to go all the way because we can't continue to have this to happen."

And so, unless you've missed like the last three months of news - you'll know that the PSU and the Belize Pharmacists Association have been heavily opposed to the Contreras hiring. First, because they say she isn't qualified and second because they fear that as the daughter of a Minister, she could be placed in a sensitive position to act as a rubber stamp. Today the PSU explained that the problems starts with her even being hired in the first place:..

Mervyn Blades, President - PSU
"Its clearly stated in the public service regulations and its part of the public service norms that the hire of anybody in the public service it has to come from the public service commission and on top of that also you have to look from within. There are several persons within the pharmacists unit that would qualify to handle this position and the point I wanted to make in regards to this position is the position that she holds; it's the directorate of drug inspection. She has fly pass the entire schedule of how hierarchy of promotions is happening, so she is even above the chief pharmacist who is a senior person who has 17 years of service, who is the most experience in regards to these things, Her inexperience is alarming because she is covering a senior post."

Contreras has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Pharmaceuticals.

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