The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Federal Health Institutions sector (NANNM-FHI) said their industrial action has yet to be called off.
The union contradicted the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammad Pate, who told newsmen after a closed-door meeting on Friday in Abuja that the strike had been suspended.
The National Public Relations Officer of the NANNM-Federal Health Institutions sector, Omomo Tibiebi, clarified that the industrial action that commenced on Wednesday, July 29, was still ongoing.
“The strike has not been suspended. Earlier today, NANNM executives held a meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, and it was the minister who went to the press to claim the strike had been called off.
“But he wasn’t the one who called the strike in the first place, so he has no right to declare it suspended. The strike is still on,” Vanguard quoted Tibiebi to have said.
Tibiebi further disclosed that the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) would convene a meeting on Saturday to look into the Federal Government’s offers and decide the next line of action.
“There will be a NEC meeting tomorrow (Saturday), and that’s when a decision will be made. We will then determine if what the Federal Government has promised is sufficient for us to suspend the strike,” he added.
Nurses and midwives under the association had embarked on a nationwide warning strike over the Federal Government’s failure to address their demands after a 15-day ultimatum issued on July 24.
The nurses are demanding an upward review of shift allowances, adjustment of uniform allowances, and the establishment of a distinct salary structure for nurses.
Others include an increase in core duty allowance, mass recruitment of nurses, and the creation of a dedicated nursing department within the Federal Ministry of Health.
