Nurses set strike deadline

THE Namibia Nurses’ Union (Nanu) says a national strike by nurses will be unavoidable if Government fails to meet their demands.

Nanu Secretary General Abner Shopati told The Namibian that they have set a deadline of January 23 for Government’s negotiating team to give them favourable feedback or face a strike. “Those people are not serious.The long-awaited circular on overtime that they talked about for so much of last year is not even out yet.Our determination is straightforward and the deadline still standing,” Shopati said.The Ministry of Health forwarded the grievances of the nurses to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in December.Nanu has also applied for Government recognition as the trade union representing nurses.Shopati said delaying tactics in the recognition of Nanu could easily lead to a national strike “and the nation will suffer”.He accused “some individuals who are strategically positioned” in Government, who he accused of hating justice, of blocking the union’s attempts to get recognised.Without naming them, Shopati claimed some top officials abused nurses, degraded them and behaved autocratically in determining their conditions of service.”It should be noted that an individual’s interest should not be allowed in this country [to be placed] above the national interest.[The] alliance with Napwu is not healthy and will lead to the public health institution to collapse, as nurses are ready to withdraw their skills and expertise,” Shopati said.Earlier, the Ministry of Health suggested that Nanu should challenge the Namibia Public Workers’ Union (Napwu) for the status of sole bargaining agent for nurses before approaching Government to negotiate conditions of service for its members.Nanu had tried for months to meet with Government to discuss nurses’ grievances, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.Nanu was eventually told it was not a bargaining agent.Prime Minister Nahas Angula later wrote to Health Minister Dr Richard Kamwi suggesting that he meet with Nanu leaders to explain why the Ministry could not meet the union, provided that Nanu suspended its demonstration.A meeting took place just hours before the December 6 demonstration but Nanu said it was too late to stop the protest at that stage.The stand-off is rooted in a dispute over the calculations of pay for work done on Sundays and public holidays.Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said earlier that nurses were still receiving overtime payment, but only for part of their shifts on Sundays and public holidays.He said the change was implemented on April 1, but that the overtime system had been changed in 1998 already.According to Shangula, nurses had been overpaid for many years because of varying interpretations of the Labour Act.”Those people are not serious.The long-awaited circular on overtime that they talked about for so much of last year is not even out yet.Our determination is straightforward and the deadline still standing,” Shopati said.The Ministry of Health forwarded the grievances of the nurses to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in December.Nanu has also applied for Government recognition as the trade union representing nurses.Shopati said delaying tactics in the recognition of Nanu could easily lead to a national strike “and the nation will suffer”.He accused “some individuals who are strategically positioned” in Government, who he accused of hating justice, of blocking the union’s attempts to get recognised.Without naming them, Shopati claimed some top officials abused nurses, degraded them and behaved autocratically in determining their conditions of service. “It should be noted that an individual’s interest should not be allowed in this country [to be placed] above the national interest.[The] alliance with Napwu is not healthy and will lead to the public health institution to collapse, as nurses are ready to withdraw their skills and expertise,” Shopati said.Earlier, the Ministry of Health suggested that Nanu should challenge the Namibia Public Workers’ Union (Napwu) for the status of sole bargaining agent for nurses before approaching Government to negotiate conditions of service for its members.Nanu had tried for months to meet with Government to discuss nurses’ grievances, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.Nanu was eventually told it was not a bargaining agent.Prime Minister Nahas Angula later wrote to Health Minister Dr Richard Kamwi suggesting that he meet with Nanu leaders to explain why the Ministry could not meet the union, provided that Nanu suspended its demonstration.A meeting took place just hours before the December 6 demonstration but Nanu said it was too late to stop the protest at that stage.The stand-off is rooted in a dispute over the calculations of pay for work done on Sundays and public holidays.Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said earlier that nurses were still receiving overtime payment, but only for part of their shifts on Sundays and public holidays.He said the change was implemented on April 1, but that the overtime system had been changed in 1998 already.According to Shangula, nurses had been overpaid for many years because of varying interpretations of the Labour Act.