RISK ALLOWANCE: NURSES ACCUSE GOVT OF DIVIDING THEM

MANZINI – Nurses have accused government of wanting to divide them regarding the 35 per cent proposed risk allowance.

Currently, government and nurses are locked in bilateral negotiations on a litany of issues, including a proposal of a 35 per cent risk allowance.

This allowance, it was gathered, was not only for the coronavirus pandemic period, but ought to be labelled an infectious allowance and it should feature every month in their salaries. 

Impeccable sources claimed that this demand was tabled in the ongoing bilateral negotiations between government and the nursing cadre’s union – Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), which is also known as the Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA).

These negotiations are a result of a court order issued following that nurses had taken government to court citing lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), medication and also seeking a risk allowance.

The negotiations are still ongoing as the last meeting between the pair was held last Wednesday.

Advanced 

The risk allowance, according to sources, was being advanced now as the nurses were working under strenuous conditions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, which saw a high number of medical personnel contracting the virus.

When tabling the demand, nurses wanted every nurse to be awarded the risk allowance of 35 per cent. Worth noting is that the entry level for the nursing cadre is C2 notch one, which offers a nurse E8 593.08 monthly. This means for a junior nurse who has just been employed, the risk allowance, if awarded by government, shall be E3 007.58, which would in turn mean that the monthly remuneration for this particular nurse would be E11 600.66.

On the other hand, the senior position in the nursing cadre is that of a chief nurse, who is remunerated on grade F1, which is E35 684.08.

This means a chief nurse on this scale, if government agrees to the demand, shall earn E12 489.43 as a risk allowance if eligible. When calculated with the basic salary, it amounts to E48 173.50.

Since the pronouncement of the first case in the country, SWADNU has been at the forefront complaining about the shortage of PPE, among other issues.

The challenge was so intense such that at some point, Cabinet ministers had to intervene and address healthcare practitioners who had neglected their duties in the various health facilities.

In the ongoing negotiations, alternatively, it was gathered, the nurses submitted to government that if there was a challenge with finances, they would rather have government suspend deducting pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax from their salaries for a certain period.

According to the impeccable sources, this was said to be an alternative to cushioning their salaries in the face of the pandemic. The impeccable sources claimed that government had hinted that those who could get the risk allowance could be nurses stationed at the Mavuso Quarantine Facility and the Lubombo Referral Hospital.

However, this was said to have not augured well with the nurses, as they felt that it would bring about division within the cadre. The impeccable sources claimed that they had learnt that their leaders demanded that all nurses should be awarded the risk allowance as they were all exposed to the virus.

“The (health) facilities that they are referring to are sometimes full and the other hospitals attend to those who are sick with COVID-19; so, it would be unfair for them not to get the allowance as well,” the source said.

Exhaustive 

It was further explained that all nurses were exposed to the virus as the screening methods were not exhaustive in determining patients who had contracted the virus. The sources said even the thermoscanners could have a normal reading of the temperature if that particular individual was not suffering from a fever. 

Also, government converted some health facilities into COVID-19 centres during the peak of the pandemic in its second wave.

To this, the President of SWADNU, Bheki Mamba, confirmed that negotiations were ongoing. He said: “I can confirm that negotiations are ongoing and we will issue a statement once the negotiations are complete.” Mamba said the ongoing pandemic was impacting the lives of about 2 500 nurses daily and once all is done, his office would address the union and forge a way forward. Meanwhile, last year laboratory personnel downed their tools as they demanded that they wanted the issue of risk allowances to be addressed by their employer, adding that their work was undermined and they were not considered an essential service.

The demand for the risk allowance by the nursing cadre is happening at a time when government is targeting to minimise the wage bill by E300 million per year, starting last year, which was said to have been achieved.

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