Nurses in their numbers took to the streets yesterday, in Abuja, to protest non-enforcement of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) judgment of January 2012 as regard the Unified Scheme of Service for nurses and midwives in the country.

 

The NICN had ruled that: “Any nurse or midwife duly registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is entitled to all rights and privileges of a member of the Nursing and Midwifery profession in terms of remuneration and progression within the service to the pinnacle of the profession without any discrimination, except as to the entry point as prescribed by the undisputed Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) Award dated April 24, 1980 and except upon the acquisition of a post basic qualification recognised and registrable with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for enhanced progression within the service.”

 

National President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Abdrafiu Adeniji, who led the peaceful protest, warned that nurses would no longer tolerate what he described as, “the negative position assumed by the present management of Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) against the implementation.”

 

Adeniji said the leadership of the Nurses and Midwifery Council must be held responsible if nurses decide to go on strike to push for the implementation of the judgment.

 

He said: “ We demand the immediate withdrawal of all the impediments including the letter to the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF) written by the Acting Registrar of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in contrast to the NICN Judgment of January 2012 on the Harmonised Scheme of Service.

 

“The appropriate letter in tune with the NICN Judgment as directed by the Board of NMCN be written and delivered to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation within seven (7) days from the date of receipt of this letter. The Board of the NMCN shall be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that may arise as a result of the failure of the NMCN to act accordingly.

 

BY Kemi Yusufu