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Nurses unions warn of another strike on April 8
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Medical students and doctors step in to carry out nursing duties at the National Hospital. Pix by Amila Gamage
Nurses unions will meet next week to decide on further trade union action after failing to draw a favourable response from the Government for some of their demands.
The move comes after a two-day strike (on March 27 and 28) by nurses crippled services at government hospitals.
The Government Nursing Officers’ Association president, Saman Rathnapriya, said a final decision on the proposed strike on April 8 would be taken only after talks with other health sector unions on Wednesday, April 3.
Empty corridors in the hospital
One of the main demands of the nurses unions is the anomaly with regard to nurses’ promotion schemes. At present, nurses have to be employed for 20 years before they are eligible to be promoted as Grade 1 nurses.
The Public Services Nurses Union president, the Ven. Muruttetuwe Ananda Thera said that by the time the nurses get promoted to Grade 1 level, they would be close to retirement age.
Trade unions have demanded that the promotion scheme be changed so that nurses are able to reach this grade in 12 years, and not in 20.
Other demands include a hike in allowances, the granting of duty-free vehicle permits and standardisation of overtime payments so that there will be no disparity between the rates paid to doctors and nurses.
“The Government has not given us five cents! It has lied and delayed things for the past four years. Our union members went on strike as they were left with no other alternative,” the Ven. Ananda Thera said.
Meanwhile, patients, especially, those who had travelled long distances, were inconvenienced by the nurses’ strike. Most of them said they had been unaware of the strike.
At the National Hospital in Colombo, doctors obtained the services of medical students to carry out the duties of the nurses during the strike, while House Officers were seen handing over of medication to patients and attending to dressing of wounds.
Attempts by the Sunday Times to contact senior Health Ministry officials and get the government’s response were not successful.