By Matthew Denis Abuja
The Kwara state chapter of National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has issued a 15-Days ultimatum should the state government fails to implement their demands.
This is contained in a statement signed by the State Chairman of Association, Comrade Aminu Shehu and the Secretary, Comrade Markus Luka and made available to the media on Wednesday.
The statement reads “the Congress has observed that the government has deliberately turned a blind eye to the association’s plight on 100percent upward review and immediate implementation of the 2019 enhanced Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) payment scheme inspite of several efforts on negotiation.
“We have also observed that the government has since 2018 caused division among our members for not implementing the previously agreed 10 percent increment of CONHESS for local government nurses. We implore the government to avoid a repeat of similar situation at this time.
According to the statement, the Congress in council noted that the government has failed to provide adequate Security for our members at their duty posts as our hospitals have remained porous till date in terms of security.
“The Congress urges the government to recruit more nurses at the state and local government levels to the bridge the gap of gross shortage across board.
“The Congress decries the situation of our hospitals and non functional obsolete equipment which has hampered our efficiency as non availability of resources and equipment to work with portraying us negatively before the masses.
The statement stressed “ while we are grateful to the Government on financial backing and implementation of promotion for our members, it is surprising that some of our members are yet to be paid till date.
“ Nurses with the public health Nursing Certificate have been denied their rights of career advancement. We therefore implore the government to do the needful.
The statement noted that the Congress agreed that the refusal of the government to resolve the above issues within 15 days from 3rd November, 2021 will force members to withdraw their services from all the healthcare facilities across the state.