Sodiq Ojuroungbe
Nurses at the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State have protested against an alleged exclusion from the 2023 promotion carried out in the institution.
The nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives also expressed displeasure over what they described as harsh working conditions, asking the management of the hospital to address their promotion arrears, shortage of staff, and other rights.
The protest monitored by PUNCH Healthwise was carried out on the hospital’s premises on Wednesday.
The aggrieved workers were seen singing and carrying placards around the premises peacefully.
Some of the placards read: “Stop selective promotion”; “Nurses workload is enough for promotion”; “Nurses’ lives matter”; “Give us our promotion”; “Healthy workplace, healing spaces, nurses demand both”; “Improve nurses’ working environment”.
Speaking with our correspondent, NANNM Chairman, FMC Abeokuta chapter, Olufimilola Adekunle, said the protest was to demand the papers of the promotional examination which the hospital claimed the nurses failed.
Adekunle lamented that many of the nurses are exhausted, and overworked due to acute manpower shortage in the hospital.
“We are tired, we are really tired. Before we used to do three shifts but because of the shortage, we have to collapse it to two shifts.
“We have written to the management several times for remuneration for this long hours work we are doing but no response.
“The only thing we enjoyed from this management is this promotion and now our members were not beneficiaries. They said we failed, we want to see the script,” she insisted.
Reacting to the protest, Head of Clinical Services of the hospital, Dr Kunle Adediran, told our correspondent that the issue regarding the promotion was beyond the management because the decision was taken by the Federal Ministry of Health.
He, however, promised that the hospital will write to the Federal Government in reviewing some of the decisions and also fulfill other issues raised by the nurses.
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