THE National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives have expressed outrage over the exclusion of its members from the recent 40% salary increase for federal employees.
The association voiced its dissatisfaction in a statement released yesterday by Morakinyo-Olajide Rilwan, the national chairman.
According to Rilwan, the 40% wage increase drew the attention of nurses and midwives working in federal health institutes, who saw their outright exclusion as an anomaly and an attempt to destabilize the system.
Rilwan added that despite numerous committees being established and nurses and other health professionals requesting salary adjustments since 2016, nothing had been done.
He maintained that there was no rationale for the Federal Government to deny salary raises to certain sectors of federal civil servants, particularly those in the health sector, given that everyone, including the employees, shop at the same markets and pays the same bills.
According to him, the action is also taking place when nurses and midwives are leaving the nation in search of greener pastures, thereby increasing the workload on the few nurses who are remaining on ground.
Rilwan said, “Instead of motivating those health workers, who have agreed to stay in the country to salvage the health system by this pay rise, the best thing government thought they could do was to exclude nurses!
“The last time Consolidated Health Salary Scale was adjusted was in 2010 and most of the allowances due to nurses were being short-paid, for instance 30 per cent shift allowance with less than 10 per cent being paid to nurses.
“Many things are causing agitation, including Nurses Special Salary Structure.
“However, we are just getting the news this weekend and we are studying the situation while consultation with relevant stakeholders is ongoing, especially our parent body.
“But the fact is that our members are not happy with the exclusion and we cannot continue keeping quiet.
“Nurses have suffered enough neglect and deprivation as front line workers in health sector.”
