Nurses protest non-payment of teaching allowances, others

NURSES and midwives at teaching and other federal hospitals across the country, on Wednesday, demanded for the payment of their allowances allegedly held by the Federal Government.

Nurses and midwives at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, staged a one-day peaceful protest to demand the payment of their teaching allowances.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the protest was a directive from the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) to all federal health institutions in the country.

NAN also reported that the protest was led by the NANNM executive while the nurses were also seen singing and carrying placards around the premises.

The placards with inscriptions read: “Federal Ministry of Health pay us our teaching allowance”, “Stop stagnation”, “Nurses are professionals that should be respected and not treated as slaves.”

Chairman of the association, LUTH chapter, Mrs Yemisi Adelaja, told newsmen in Lagos that the protest was to bring the attention of the Federal Government to the plight and suffering of nurses.

According to Adelaja, the deteriorating state of infrastructure, non-availability of adequate medical consumables are situations that had progressively gone worse in recent times.

He listed some of their demands to include discriminatory and selective implementation of policies by the Federal Ministry of Health on career progression for nurses and midwives.

“Most of our health institutions today operate a nurse-patient ratio of one to 15 as against the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation of one to four.

“Inadequate manpower and dearth of highly skilled nurses specialist has greatly affected our clinical outputs and nurses health.

“If the workload is on the nurses, it will definitely affect the patient’s health because most times, this affects the attitude of nurses due to pressure.

“There are also cases of non-payment of promotion arrears and recommendation of teaching allowances of members on CONHESS seven to eight by most medical directors,” she said.

The NANNM, University College Hospital (UCH) chapter, also condemned the selective and discriminatory implementation of government policies on career progression of nurses in the state.

Mrs Ronke Bello, the Chairperson of the association, UCH branch, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ibadan at a news conference during a one-day rally/protest organised by nurses against such discriminations ad other issues.

“In most of our hospitals, clinics and wards, the ratio of nurses to patients is one to 15 and this is not in compliance with regulations of the nursing council.

“The discrimination and selective implementation of government policies by the federal ministry of health on career progression for nurses and midwives.

“Those promoted have been on the same level and cadre without payment of promotion arrears.

“Promotion of nurses from CONHESS 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, and 14-14 with most of our members spending up to 10 to 12 years on the same grade and cadre.

“Non payment of promotion arrears by most CMDs/MDs for upwards of four years and their failure to recommence payment of teaching allowance to members on levels 7 and 8,” she said.

At the rally, Mr Wale Olatunde, Chairman, Federal Health Institutions of Nigeria, UCH branch, said that government should do the needful by settling the issues of nurses’ welfare once and for all.

Also, activities at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja the Kogi State capital, were temporarily paralysed on Wednesday as nurses of the institution embarked on peaceful protest to press home their demands.

The nurses, marched through the major road in front of the centre with different placards.

The protest, which started at about 9:00 a.m., saw the nurses chanting songs to draw the attention of the Federal Government to their plight.

The protesters were led by the chairman of the FMC, Kogi State chapter of the association, Ibrahim Yakubu and other members of the association, who condemned their conditions of service.

Speaking with the Nigeria Tribune during the protest, Yakubu said the protest, being nationwide, was organised to draw the attention of government to the problems his members were facing.

He said apart from the arrears of salaries they were being owed, the facilities in many of the hospitals were condemnable, noting that many of the federal hospitals lacked basic facilities to run a standard medical centre.

According to him, a visit to some of the hospitals would reveal lack of electricity, adding that “we are protesting the absence of water in the hospitals. If the public water fails everything fails.”