Times Of Swaziland: NURSES’ MARCH GOES AHEAD THIS FRIDAY!

NURSES’ MARCH GOES AHEAD THIS FRIDAY!
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BY SIBUSISO ZWANE on 18/06/2019 00:20:00


MANZINI - Total shutdown! This is expected to be the case in the country on
Friday, as the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union’s (SWADNU) plan to lead its
members to deliver a petition to the Ministry of Health will go ahead as
planned.
SWADNU President Bheki Mamba said the petition would be demanding the ministry
to address the issue of the drugs shortage in the country’s health facilities.
“Again, we will also be calling upon the ministry to address the issue of the
shortage of nurses in the country’s medical centres,” the president said.
He said this was because if there was no shortage of drugs and limited staff
members in the country’s clinics, health centres and hospitals, they could
deliver sufficient services to the public.
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Meanwhile, leaders of public sector associations (PSAs) held a meeting at SNAT
Centre yesterday afternoon, to map a way forward regarding issues which affect
their members.
The PSAs are SWADNU, Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), National
Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and Swaziland National
Government Accountants Personnel (SNAGAP).
Insiders within the associations revealed that during their meeting held
yesterday, the leaders agreed that they would encourage their members to be part
of the nurses’ march to deliver the petition to the Ministry of Health.
They said this was because the shortage of drugs and nurses in the country’s
health facilities, affects every citizen of the country, including civil
servants.
On another note, the inside sources said the unions’ leaders agreed that next
Wednesday, they would deliver petitions to different government departments,
including the Prime Minister’s (PM’s) Office and Cabinet among others.
They said at the PM’s Office, Cabinet and Ministry of Public Service, they
would deliver a petition which demands that the administration, through the
government negotiation team (GNT), resumes the negotiation table.
This is where they would talk about cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA), appeals of
the 2016 salary review and allowances among other issues.
Again, the sources said the PSAs would lead its members to deliver another
petition to the Accountant General’s office, where they would demand that it
should remit the unions’ subscriptions on time. They said the unions’
complaint was that the subscription fees for its members were not remitted,
something which affected its operations.
Once more, the insiders said another petition would be delivered to the Ministry
of Health to complain about the shortage of drugs and nurses in the country.
SNAT Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini confirmed that they would be having
union activities on Friday and next Wednesday.
On the same note, NAPSAWU Secretary General Thulani Hlatshwako confirmed their
meeting. However, he said the secretariat would release detailed information
about their discussions in due course.