- He stated that the industrial action embarked on by the members of the association is still going on, adding that there steps to follow if the strike is to be called off
The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) have dismissed the claim by the federal government that it has suspended its strike.
Recall that the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, had announced that the nurses had called off their five-day warning strike.
Pate, while speaking with journalists after a closed-door meeting in Abuja on Friday, said the striking nurses resolved to shelve the strike after a compromise was reached between the government and the leadership of NANNM at a meeting on Friday.
However, the association’s National Chairman, Morakinyo Rilwan, debunked the minister’s statement, stating that he does not have the power to unilaterally call off the strike.
He stated that the industrial action embarked on by the members of the association is still going on, adding that there steps to follow if the strike is to be called off.
“If it was the Minister who organised the strike, then he could call it off. As far as I’m concerned, the strike organised by the association is still ongoing. The Minister didn’t organise the strike, so he doesn’t have the authority to call it off.
“There are procedures to follow, if it is to be called off at all,” Daily Trust quoted Rilwan as saying.
Hospitals across the country were shut down following a seven-day nationwide warning strike embarked upon by the nurses. The strike followed a 15-day ultimatum issued by NANNM to the federal government.
The strike, according to NANNM’s leadership, addresses issues including poor remuneration, staff shortages, unpaid allowances, and unsafe working conditions