Nurses angry at cancellation of meeting

NURSES reacted with anger yesterday after a meeting scheduled with Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula was postponed at the eleventh hour.

The nurses were gathering outside the Windhoek Central Hospital chapel at lunchtime when they were informed that Shangula had other pressing issues to attend to and was unable to attend the meeting. The message was given to them by officials of the Namibia Nurses’ Union (Nanu), to whom Shangula’s office had sent a fax.Nanu was not supposed to be at the meeting, as Shangula told The Namibian last week that the management would “meet the nurses as employees” to deal with threats of a demonstration being organised by the union.”It is funny that the Ministry refuses to talk to Nanu but sends a fax to our offices to inform the nurses.That proves that Nanu is nurses and nurses are Nanu,” said one Nanu leader.The nurses outside the chapel and in front of the outpatients’ section of the hospital accused the Ministry of employing delaying tactics and said some of them turned up despite being tired after working a night shift.”But we will show them on December 6,” said one of them.Nanu had given the Ministry until last week Friday to talk to them or face a mass demonstration over the decision to reduce nurses’ overtime pay for work done on Sundays and public holidays.If the demonstration fails to get them the necessary audience, Nanu vowed to organise a strike.”People (patients) will die and we will not be blamed,” said Timo Gebhard, one of the Nanu leaders.The meeting with Shangula was rescheduled for tomorrow.The message was given to them by officials of the Namibia Nurses’ Union (Nanu), to whom Shangula’s office had sent a fax.Nanu was not supposed to be at the meeting, as Shangula told The Namibian last week that the management would “meet the nurses as employees” to deal with threats of a demonstration being organised by the union.”It is funny that the Ministry refuses to talk to Nanu but sends a fax to our offices to inform the nurses.That proves that Nanu is nurses and nurses are Nanu,” said one Nanu leader.The nurses outside the chapel and in front of the outpatients’ section of the hospital accused the Ministry of employing delaying tactics and said some of them turned up despite being tired after working a night shift.”But we will show them on December 6,” said one of them.Nanu had given the Ministry until last week Friday to talk to them or face a mass demonstration over the decision to reduce nurses’ overtime pay for work done on Sundays and public holidays.If the demonstration fails to get them the necessary audience, Nanu vowed to organise a strike.”People (patients) will die and we will not be blamed,” said Timo Gebhard, one of the Nanu leaders.The meeting with Shangula was rescheduled for tomorrow.