THE Minister of Health, Ali Pate, a professor, on Friday announced that the warning strike by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) had been suspended, following a closed-door meeting with the union’s leadership in Abuja.
Pate told reporters that the industrial action, which began on July 29, was called off after a closed-door meeting and agreements reached with the association.
Contrary to the minister’s claim, a branch chairman of the association who attended the meeting told The ICIR that the strike had not been suspended and that members across various states had not been directed to resume work.
”There’s a protocol at the union. Whenever we meet the government officials, we need to go back to the members of the union to share the messages and what we discussed. But we have not done that,” he said.
When asked if there was a positive feeling that the strike would be suspended, he said, “I can’t determine that. We are just messengers. It’s left for the members to decide based on the information we share with them.”
The strike came against the backdrop of repeated warnings from the union that it would not suspend the strike based on promises alone.
The national chairman of the union’s Federal Health Institutions Sector, Morakinyo-Olajide Rilwan, said on Thursday that the nurses would not heed government appeals to return to work without tangible actions taken to meet their demands.
He also explained that the association had been patient and given sufficient notice, but the government failed to act.
The ICIR reports that the Minister of Labour, Muhammadu Dingyadi, had on Wednesday, July 30, urged the nurses and midwives to reconsider their stance.
While appealing for the suspension of the strike, he encouraged the union to continue dialogue, describing industrial action as an unproductive solution.
He said discussions would resume on Friday at the Ministry of Health.
The union’s demands include gazetting the scheme of service for nurses, upward review of allowances, introduction of speciality allowances for specialist nurses, improved remuneration, recruitment of more nurses, and the establishment of a dedicated department for nursing within the Federal Ministry of Health.
The ICIR reports that the strike has grounded services at most federal hospitals in the country since it began.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M