Prime Minister David Thompson led the assault on the Opposition when the House of Assembly debated a bill on the nursing profession.

While the Opposition was trying to hold Government "to the fire"
for not doing some things within the first 100 days in office, BLP administrations had repeatedly failed to pass promised labour legislation, Thompson charged.

"More than 3 000 days have passed, more than 6 000 days have passed, more than 9 000 days have passed . . . since they first promised protection for employees and new labour legislation in this country," he said.

"Nine thousand days later, after they were in office for three distinct occasions and could have done it, it was not done."

He spoke against the backdrop of charges by Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley that Government had not kept a single election promise.

Minister of Housing and Lands Michael Lashley charged that several promises made to health and nursing in particular in the 1999 BLP Manifesto had not been honoured.

Despite this, he added:
"They would try to criticise us on the 100-day programme . . . ."

Promises to introduce health aides through the entire health care system and to establish a full-time registrar for the General Nursing Council as well as a rehabilitation centre were not fulfilled, according to Lashley.

Far from helping nurses, the BLP administration "excluded" them and "put them out of work", the MP
for St Philip North alleged.

Minister of Transport, Works and International Business John Boyce also charged that the BLP had reneged on promises to establish a day care facility at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for nurses, as well as to establish special facilities at the St Joseph Hospital.

The BLP had promised to use the St Joseph Hospital for convalescing, but never fulfilled the pledge, he said.

Boyce spoke of pledges made in the 1999 manifesto and repeated in the 2003 manifesto.

Democratic Labour Party (DLP) parliamentarians, including Minister of Social Care Dr Denis Lowe, also argued that while the BLP had said it would bring drafted legislation to Parliament to help the nursing profession, it was left to the DLP to propose the Nursing Bill 2008.

St Joseph MP Dale Marshall countered that the DLP had not changed "even a punctuation mark" in the BLP's original bill on nursing.

Prime Minister Thompson responded that the DLP was prepared to sponsor whatever was good for Barbados, regardless of where it originated.

While the BLP was quick to lay claim to some developments,
it should be prepared to take criticism "for the things they
failed to do" that left Barbados
in a bad way, he said. (TY)