Tension brews as RFM nurses accused of crime
MANZINI - There is tension at RFM Hospital, as six nurses have been served with letters to show cause why they should not be slapped with criminal charges.
7his comes after 5aleigh )itkin 0emo rial (5)0) Hospital management said it was investigating the petition delivery march, which the nurses held on 0arch
, , where they demanded the removal of a senior manager, who they accused of nepotism, among other things. 7he march started from 7relawny 3ark to the hospital. In their petition, the nurses accused the senior manager of nepotism, untrustworthiness, issuing mislead ing information and non remittance of monies to financial institutions. 7hey also accused senior manager of having a hand in the shortage of eTuipment, drugs and supplies, staff shortage and lack of uniform, thus they demanded that she be removed. 7hey gave their management
hours to address their demands. $ccording to a source close to the mat ter, following the petition delivery, man agement invited the nurses to a meeting and with the hope that they would discuss their demands. However, the source said when the nurses arrived at the meeting management told them that it did not recognise their petition. 7he source said the management said this was because their collective agreement did not cover a petition as a way of communicating.
$fter that, he said management also informed the staff members that it had launched an investigation into the events that took place on 0arch , , when the nurses delivered the petition. He said the nurses were informed that manage ment had observed some elements that could see some or all of them face crim inal charges. 7he source said according to the management, the nurses allegedly used force when marching into the prem ises of the institution and this purportedly caused some disturbances.
Source
On top of that, the source said man agement also said the nurses allegedly damaged the car of the senior manager, whom they accused of nepotism, among other things. He said according to the management, the nurses allegedly did this by leaving the placards they were carrying when marching, on the man ager¶s car. /ater on, the source said the nurses, through their union, reTuested to have a meeting on$pril , , at noon at the nurses¶ lounge. However, he said on$pril , , the management replied in writing to the nurses¶ reTuest and said pending finalisation of the investigation relating to incidents of 0arch , it regrets to inform them that it could not accede to their reTuest for a mass meet ing. 7hereafter, the source said on $pril
, , about six nurses who were pur portedly part of those who partook in the petition delivery march were served with letters to show cause why they should not be charged in connection with the alleged unlawful activities that took place on day of the demonstration. 7he source said the nurses were told to respond no later than $pril , . $fter receiving the letters, the source said the nurses approached the 6wa]iland 'emocratic Nurses 8nion (6:$'N8) and report ed the developments. 7he source said 6:$'N8 met with management over the matter and highlighted that the talks were still ongoing. 6:$'N8 6ecretary *eneral (6*) 0ayibongwe 0asangane confirmed that six nurses informed the union that they had been served with letters to show cause why they should not be charged in connection with what transpired on 0arch , . He said they engaged the hospital¶s management and it argued that the issue petition de livery was not covered in their collective agreement, thus they did not recognise it. He said they tried to reason with the administration by highlighting that the collective agreement was working under the Industrial 5elations $ct of , which covers gatherings, demonstrations and petition deliveries. ³However, we failed to reach an agreement and as such, in our next meeting we will be discussing the letters,´ the 6* said. 0eanwhile, the Eswatini Na]arene Health Institution (ENHI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) %enMamin 6imelane said according to their policy, they should not divulge mat ters that were still on the table between management and the workers¶ organisa tions. He said all he could confirm was that they have met with 6:$'N8 and the meeting could not be completed. In that regard, he said another meeting had been scheduled for this week. However, a source within management said the em ployer was closely guided by the labour laws of the country, institution¶s policies and procedures. He said these should be protected and respected across ± from CEO to shop floor employees, without favour or discrimination. 7he source highlighted that a show cause statement attempts to decipher if indeed any regu lation or law have been flouted.