Nurses' outstanding overtime pay and their ability to use their overtime to reduce their working hours during their normal shifts are at the center of negotiations with the Public Service Commission.

Samoa Nurses Association (S.N.A.) President Solialofi Papalii told the Samoa Observer on Tuesday that they had a two-day conference last week where the issue of the nurses' working hours and outstanding overtime pay was raised with the P.S.C. officials.

She said overtime pay for their members is yet to be addressed by the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) and a solution that the S.N.A. has proposed to the Ministry, is for nurses to use their overtime hours logged to reduce their working hours during a normal shift, which would see them work for just 4–5 hours the next day.

"We had a two-day conference last week where we negotiated with the P.S.C. about the working hours of nurses and what needed to be done especially with the concern of the overtime not being paid," Mrs. Papalii said. 

"So the solution is if a nurse has worked for 18 hours on the previous day when they come in on the next day, they can use some of those overtime hours as their normal working hours on the next day, even if means they will work for only six hours or so.

"The nurses need to take better care of themselves too and have enough rest to serve the country with cared and a healthy environment because it's not an easy job."

While the S.N.A. is yet to hear from the M.O.H. leadership and the Government, on the latest proposal to address the outstanding overtime pay and use of overtime hours, Mrs. Papalii said they've made similar submissions to the former Administration. 

There are currently about 700 nurses registered to serve both in Upolu and Savai'i, which is a slight increase from last year. However, it is still not enough to cater to the growing population of the country, according to the S.N.A. President.

"The population of Samoa keeps growing and despite the slight increase in the number of nurses, we still need more nurses," she said.

Mrs. Papalii added that it has been 4–5 months since the nurses' overtime pay was last processed and paid.

Last month the Health Director General, Aiono Dr. Alec Ekeroma ordered a pre-audit of overtime claims and the payroll every pay week following the discovery of the workers’ illegal conduct within the M.O.H.

He said there was no audit of the Ministry's payroll for the last four years but they noticed a lot of people who were claiming overtime when they are not supposed to be getting overtime or were working overtime.