Lesotho- Nurses give Majoro seven-day ultimatum

(MENAFN- The Post) MASERU -NURSES at government hospitals this week gave Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro a seven-day ultimatum to address their grievances or they will 'take drastic measures' against the government.
They did not specify what measures they will take if their concerns are not heeded.

The Lesotho Nurses Association (LNA) handed the letter to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Kemiso Mosenene, in Maseru on Tuesday.
They also demanded that striking nurses and nursing assistants at Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital who are now facing disciplinary action should also not be victimised.

'Because of the urgency of the grievances aforementioned, Lesotho Nurses Association recommends government of Lesotho to address these issues as a matter of urgency (within seven days),' their letter reads in part.
'Failure to implement (the proposals) will force nurses and nursing assistants as well as nursing students to take drastic measures.'

The threat comes a week after management at Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital ordered the striking nurses to go back to work following a Labour Court judgment that they should temporarily stop their strike pending finalisation of a case against them on March 10.
The hospital, popularly known as Tšepong, had applied for an urgent interim order to force the nurses to return to work until the case is finalised.

The hospital maintained that the strike was illegal.
The nurses' major grievance is that since 2012 their salaries have not been increased when the government upped the salaries of nurses across the board.
A nurse at Queen 'Mamohato earns about M9 000 per month while their colleagues in other institutions earn M13 000.

Last week the new Labour Minister Moshe Leoma ordered the Labour Commissioner 'Mamohale Matsoso to investigate the nurses' grievances.
Apart from fighting for nurses at Queen 'Mamohato, the LNA says Majoro should ensure that pending risk allowances for all nurses and nursing assistants are paid.
The association also wants an immediate payment of nurses engaged under Covid-19 contracts in various health facilities countrywide.

'We request that salaries and benefits of fallen soldiers (should) be processed with urgency as they died trying to protect all of us. The least that can be done for their families is timely payment of benefits as well as salaries that they are owed,' the letter to Majoro reads.
'We demand a restructuring and retention package of nurses and nursing assistants.'
The association stated that it had 'a serious concern about the lack of support, protection, and recognition of nurses in the country'.

It said lack of protection and recognition does not only happen to nurses but 'nursing assistants, a nursing student in the era of Covid-19'.
The association complains that the lack of recognition and support renders nurses, nursing assistants, and nursing students vulnerable to contract the deadly Covid-19 virus and cause more havoc.

'Nurses and nursing assistants constitute 76.6 percent of health workers and are the only health workers who are with the patient 24 hours, from birth to death,' the letter reads.
The association said it is important for governments to protect nurses, nursing assistants, and nursing students to sustain the health care system as well as achieve quality health services, universal coverage, and health for all.

They are also requesting that nursing schools be supported with PPE and eLearning equipment to support the training programmes for nurses.

LESOTHO NURSES TIMELINE

September 2017 : Tšepong nurses embarked on a go slow. What irked the nurses was a decision by the management to award a M5000 salary raise to pharmacists while denying a similar increase to nurses.

November 2017 : First Lady 'Maesaia Thabane promised nurses working for Tšepong (Pty) Ltd that she would take up their grievances with the government, a move that could help end protests that had affected patients.

June 2020 : Disgruntled nurses from all over the country marched to Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro's offices to demand an improvement in their working conditions.

January 12, 2021 : The Lesotho Nurses Association announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was wreaking havoc among health professionals with at least 50 workers being infected with the virus. The association said was complaining about lack of PPE.

January 26, 2021 : Nurses and midwives complained publicly about say they are physically and emotionally bearing the brunt of a virus that has brought the world to its knees, they also complained of lack of PPE.

February 1, 2021 : Nurses at Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital downed tools on Monday on account of their unattended salary issues.

February 16, 2021 : Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital supporting staff joined the nurses' strike which had been dragging on for two weeks.

February 22, 2021 : Tšepong rushed to the Labour Court seeking to declare the strike illegal.

February 24, 2021 : Labour Minister Moshe Leoma instructs the Labour Commissioner to investigate the nurses' grievances with the aim to ask the Labour Court to give a final ruling on what should be done.

On the same day, the Labour Court ordered the nurses to go back to work pending finalisation of the case which had been filed by the management.

Tuesday this week: The LNA petitions Prime Minister Majoro to attend to the nurses' grievances within seven days.

Nkheli Liphoto

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