Controversies have surrounded the alleged suspension of the seven-day warning strike initiated by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives – Federal Health Institutions Sector (NANNM-FHI).
While the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, had said that the nurses had suspended the strike, the Chairman of the Nursing Union of the National Hospital, Abuja, Comrade Joseph Awujah Akpi, told The Guardian that the strike had not been suspended.
The nurses embarked on a seven-day warning strike to press home their demands, including an upward review of shift allowance, adjustment of uniform allowance, a separate salary structure for nurses, an increase in core duty allowance, mass recruitment of nurses, and the establishment of a nursing department in the Federal Ministry of Health, among others.
In an interview with The Guardian, Akpi said that the strike was not called by the minister and therefore cannot be suspended by him. He stated that the strike is still ongoing across all the federal health institutions, including the National hospital, adding that though the national body had a meeting with the minister, the onus is on the leadership to brief its members on the outcome of the meeting.
Akpi explained that the strike will not be suspended until the union members hear from their national leaders.
He said, “There are procedures when strikes are being called and when strikes are being suspended. Therefore, if we are to suspend this strike, it is our national leaders who will inform us that the strike has been suspended.
“The government cannot just come and tell us that they are suspending the strike. They didn’t call the strike, and they are not to suspend the strike for us.
“Because they had a meeting this morning with the government, and after the meeting with the government, they are supposed to come back and tell us that this is the discussion and we have reached this and that, because they are our representatives. They are not just there to make decisions on our behalf. Before they decided to go on strike, they didn’t decide on their own. So we have not suspended any strike yet until we hear from our national leaders.”
Akpi disclosed that the union might convene a meeting before the week runs out and lamented that most of the demands being made by the union are not monetary issues.
“We we are not discussing more financial issues; that takes time. However, there are some key actions that can be taken without spending money, such as establishing a head of a nursing department in a federal Ministry of Health.
This mainly involves gazetting the scheme of service approved since 2016 and complying with the Industrial Court judgment that favoured nurses as far back as 2012. Additionally, we should decentralise the employment of interns in government hospitals, as there are nurses who have graduated from university over four years ago without completing their internship, which is a required academic component.
“We want a system where the government will have a pool, so that when you graduate from university, your name will be sent to that pool. You can then choose where you want to go and do your internship in any of the FMCS within the federation. With that pool, it will be easier to sift out and post candidates without any hassle. The employment of interns in teaching hospitals and specialists at federal medical centres is at the discretion of the hospitals. You see? So, it makes it difficult for those who are not privileged.”
Also speaking on Friday, the National Public Relations Officer of NANNM-FHI, Omomo Tibiebi, insisted that the strike persists despite a meeting with the minister earlier in the day.
He said, “The strike has not been suspended. Earlier today, the NANNM executives met with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate. It was the minister who went to the press to announce that the strike had been called off.
“He wasn’t the one who called the strike in the first place, so he has no right to call off the strike. So, the strike is still on.”
He added that the union’s National Executive Council may meet on Saturday to review the Federal Government’s promises and determine the next line of action.
“There will be a National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, during which a decision will be made, and we will know if what the Federal Government has promised is good enough for us to suspend the strike.”
