brand logo

Nurses threaten strike in 2 weeks

01 Jun 2021

By Buddhika Samaraweera and Dinitha Rathnayake   The All Ceylon Nurses’ Union (ACNU), which initiated a 24-hour trade union action from 7 a.m. yesterday (31) citing several issues, warned that a two-day strike will be launched within 14 days from today (1 June), if the Ministry of Health and the other authorities continue to fail to resolve their issues. ACNU General Secretary S.B. Mediwatta, when contacted by The Morning, claimed that the trade union action launched yesterday, where the nurses reported sick and went on leave, was successful. However, he said that nurses working in children’s hospitals, maternity hospitals, and Covid-19 treatment centres had not joined as the ACNU did not want to inconvenience patients, especially in the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic. He also said that Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi and other relevant officials will be informed in writing regarding the issues they currently face and that the said two-day strike will be launched if speedy solutions are not provided. The ACNU engaged in a 24-hour trade union action from 7 a.m. yesterday in protest over several issues including the proposed recruitment of 11 nurses in violation of the Sri Lanka Nurses Council Act as amended, the inadequate provision of transport facilities, and the relevant authorities’ failure to provide the nurses and their families the Covid-19 vaccines. Mediwatta claimed that the Ministry is planning to recruit 11 candidates who do not meet the qualifications mentioned in the said Act. “These 11 candidates are from among 140 who are planned to be recruited to the nursing service. We are not against anyone getting a job. But the proper care that the patients receive from a nurse can only be obtained by recruiting qualified candidates. We came to know that these 11 candidates have appeared for the A/L (Advanced Level) examination in the streams of arts and commerce, whereas those who are recruited to the nursing service must have sat for the A/L examination in the science stream.” He also alleged that the authorities led by the Ministry of Health had not yet taken any action to address the issues of nurses working in the hospitals where Covid-19 patients are being treated. In particular, 19 nurses attached to the intensive care units (ICUs) of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Hospital and three nurses attached to the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital in Malabe were found to have been infected with Covid-19. The ACNU has requested the authorities that the matter be looked into and the necessary arrangements be made in order to ensure their health safety. Mediwatta further alleged that there are nurses in certain hospitals who have not received even the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines and stressed that the authorities should take immediate action to provide Covid-19 vaccines to nurses and their families who are at high risk in the prevailing circumstances. “At the moment, a large number of nursing staff have been infected with Covid-19 and many more have been quarantined for being identified as associates of the infected,” he said. In addition, he said that transport for nurses is provided only along the main roads and not for byroads and as the number of buses currently deployed was not adequate, almost all the Covid-19 health guidelines were being violated in transporting nurses on buses. They also demanded a risk allowance of Rs. 5,000 for nurses. Several attempts to contact Health Minister Wanniarachchi, Ministry of Health Secretary Maj. Gen. Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe, and Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena to inquire about their plans to resolve the issues faced by the ACNU, were unsuccessful.


More News..