By Ousman Saidykhan
The Association of Gambian Nurses and Midwives (AGaNM) have threatened to go on a total sit-down strike on September 4th 2021 if their allowances are not paid in full by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health issued a press release on the 31st of August claiming that the payment of allowances has commenced and for all nurses and midwives to return to work. However, the sit-down strike of Nurses and Midwives has commenced.
Stage one of the sit-down strike started with some departments on September 1st 2021, however, some exceptions have been made for staff in the Emergency Units, Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Covid-19 Centers, Labour and Delivery wards amongst other critical departments.
“We are considering and we are compassionate about the Gambian people, that is the reason why we decided to put even the sit-down in stages … because we don’t want them to die,” said AGaNM Secretary-General, Ousman Touray during yesterday’s press conference at Banjul’s Arch 22.
The Association said stage one of the protests will only last for three days which started on September 1st and is set to conclude on Friday 3rd September 2021. However, the AGaNM plans to intensify the strike to include all Departments if the Ministry fails to meet their demand.
“Other departments have not been working today, and this will continue for three days. If they are serious about us and the people of this country, they will try to make sure they fulfil the agreement in three days and after three days, on the 4th of September [2021], if they fail to honour this agreement, there will be a total shutdown of Nursing health care services in this county,” Secretary General Touray said
In an attempt to discourage Nurses and Midwives from embarking on a sit-down strike the Ministry of Health released a presser on the 31st August 2021, highlighting that “they see no reason for the nurses to go on strike” and that “all staff are expected to be at their duty station tomorrow [Wednesday, September 4, 2021] on time. Failure to report to work will be considered as absenteeism and will be dealt with according to the stipulated laws…The full wrath of the regulations will be prescribed for those not in their duty post effective 1st September 2021,” a statement from the Ministry of Health reads.
The same release also indicates that “Payment of the approved allowances by the Ministry of Health has already started and is in progress” and that “the Central Bank has been posting the payments to individual staff bank accounts”.
However, the Association of Gambian Nurses and Midwives said this move by the Health Ministry was meant to stop them from embarking on their sit-down strike.
Mr Touray said the Ministry of Health, on August 31, came up with a plan to pay a few of the Nurses “to make sure that somebody is paid and somebody can say that I am paid, so that when they go on strike we can go and fool the Gambian people by telling them that we even paid them but they still went on strike.”
It remains to be seen if the Ministry of Health and the AGaNM will be able to find a compromise where Nurses and Midwives are all paid before the deadline so that patients can receive the medical care they require.
Already, there is mistrust within the Gambian Health Sector because the Association believes their Ministry have no respect for Nurses and Midwives who they claim are “always treated with contempt”.