Nurses flay FG over resident doctors, threaten strike

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has expressed displeasure with the Federal Government over what it termed preferential treatment for agitation of medical doctors over those of other health personnel.

In a statement yesterday signed by the National Chairman , Wale Olatunde Gambo and National Secretary , Gambo Danfulani, the association said, “It is often very convenient for the Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Labour (both headed by medical doctors) to ignore ultimatum given by these bodies and issuing the threat of ‘No-Work No-Pay’ while the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), a non labour organisation is pampered if not over-pampered.”

The association said their demands were often treated with levity and tagged inter-professional rivalry rather than being objectively reviewed.

The association said that while it was not opposed to the government resolving its issues with NARD, it said that resolution of the issues in contention with members of the NARD would open up a chain of industrial actions by other unions/associations in the health industry because their issues pre-date those of NARD which have been left unattended to, despite court judgments.

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) said some of the unresolved issues to which the ministries of health and labour have been put on notice include: chronic shortage of both general and specialist manpower in our various institutions, inadequate provision of medical consumables and services in an attempt to promote Public Private Partnership, tagnation/redesignation/demotion of our members contrary to 2012 & 2014 National Industrial Court Judgments on career progression and skipping and stoppage or non-restoration of payment of teaching allowance to deserving members on CONHESS 7&8 despite enabling circular .

Others include non-payment of arrears owed from 2011 till date in most hospitals non-payment of uniform allowance owed from 2008 till date in some hospitals and non deduction and non-remittance of union dues by some hospital managements , among others.

“We once again call on the government to do the needful within the window period as our patience is already over-taxed and we should not be held responsible for any breakdown in services,” they said in the statement.