Voicing grievances: Nurses set December deadline for demands
Say they will boycott duties if their concerns are not addressed by December 9.
Say they will boycott duties if their concerns are not addressed by December 9. ILLUSTRATION: EXPRESS
PESHAWAR:
Nursing Association Peshawar (NAP) on Monday warned the provincial government they would go on strike from December 9 and stop attending duties if their demands are not met by then.
“Nursing is a sacred profession. We provide services to the ailing, but have been deprived of our own demands,” NAP President Farukh Jalil told The Express Tribune. He informed they will start protesting from December and have already warned the government of boycotting duties.
Nursing staff has been demanding service structure, service rules, medical and mess allowance along with scholarships for student nurses.
Jalil added neither the present nor the past government was ready to meet their demands. “The previous health minister, Zahir Ali Shah, had promised they will address our issue in two months, but no steps were taken in his time,” he said, adding they also discussed their demands with incumbent minister Shaukat Yousafzai, but he too, showed no interest.
Jalil said they will start protesting every day for two hours from December 4. They will boycott all government hospitals and only provide emergency services if their claims are not met by December 9. Although a package has been announced, the provincial government has failed to implement it, she claimed.
NAP General Secretary Anwar Sultana complained the government is not serious about addressing their concerns.
“They have accepted the requirements of doctors, but are not ready to talk to us,” she said.
Sultana informed 18 positions of senior nurses have been lying vacant in Hayatabad Medical Complex since months, “but the government is not ready to promote other nurses to these posts.”
She said compared to other provinces, nurses in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are provided less facilities. “In Punjab, the study allowance for a nurse is Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 while in K-P we are only given Rs3,500, which is unjust,” she added.
Sultana said due to a lack of hostel facilities, four nurses are crammed in a single bedroom and each has to pay Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 per month.
She added there are only two nurses attending to a whole ward. “At the time of a blast, nursing staff works more than doctors, but we are still deprived of our rights while doctors were given whatever they asked for,” Sultana lamented.
She warned if the government does not take their demands seriously, they would be compelled to come out on the streets and abandon their duties.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th,2013.
Nursing Association Peshawar (NAP) on Monday warned the provincial government they would go on strike from December 9 and stop attending duties if their demands are not met by then.
“Nursing is a sacred profession. We provide services to the ailing, but have been deprived of our own demands,” NAP President Farukh Jalil told The Express Tribune. He informed they will start protesting from December and have already warned the government of boycotting duties.
Nursing staff has been demanding service structure, service rules, medical and mess allowance along with scholarships for student nurses.
Jalil added neither the present nor the past government was ready to meet their demands. “The previous health minister, Zahir Ali Shah, had promised they will address our issue in two months, but no steps were taken in his time,” he said, adding they also discussed their demands with incumbent minister Shaukat Yousafzai, but he too, showed no interest.
Jalil said they will start protesting every day for two hours from December 4. They will boycott all government hospitals and only provide emergency services if their claims are not met by December 9. Although a package has been announced, the provincial government has failed to implement it, she claimed.
NAP General Secretary Anwar Sultana complained the government is not serious about addressing their concerns.
“They have accepted the requirements of doctors, but are not ready to talk to us,” she said.
Sultana informed 18 positions of senior nurses have been lying vacant in Hayatabad Medical Complex since months, “but the government is not ready to promote other nurses to these posts.”
She said compared to other provinces, nurses in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are provided less facilities. “In Punjab, the study allowance for a nurse is Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 while in K-P we are only given Rs3,500, which is unjust,” she added.
Sultana said due to a lack of hostel facilities, four nurses are crammed in a single bedroom and each has to pay Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 per month.
She added there are only two nurses attending to a whole ward. “At the time of a blast, nursing staff works more than doctors, but we are still deprived of our rights while doctors were given whatever they asked for,” Sultana lamented.
She warned if the government does not take their demands seriously, they would be compelled to come out on the streets and abandon their duties.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th,2013.