Nurses in all of Nigeria’s public hospitals launched a seven-day strike July 30, demanding higher pay, safer working conditions and the hiring of more nurses. The 25,000-member National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives called the action after the government refused to respond to a deadline for government movement issued by the union 15 days earlier. This was the first nurses’ strike in over 20 years.
Among the issues in dispute are inadequate pay for nurses on call or who are working nights and weekends, and for “mass recruitment” of more nurses to sharply improve the nurse-patient ratio.
The dire situation facing nurses and the effect this has on patient care is highlighted by the fact that over 42,000 nurses have left Nigeria for jobs abroad in the past three years, the country’s Nursing and Midwifery Council reported.
The union’s National Executive Council met Aug. 2, then announced the strike has been suspended because there had been movement by government ministers. What happens next depends on the government agreeing to concrete steps to meet the nurses’ demands.
The union stressed that no member “should face reprisals for participating in the strike.”
The next negotiation session is set for Aug. 6.