Sando nurses protest wage delay

The trainee nurses and nurses’ assistants argued that they have not been paid since March. They also complained about late pay in December and short pay in January and February.

One employee of the Accounting Department refused to comment and behaved hostilely when questioned about rumours of a protest brewing. Another staff member of the administrative staff asserted that there was no protest activity and that there was a delay in the receipt of the April payroll from the Head Accounts Department in the north, but she said that the hold up in pay has only affected the student nurses. She admitted that yesterday morning a number of nurses entered the Administration Office to inquire about their salaries, but then quietly dispersed after being informed that their monies would be forthcoming.

However, one student nurse denied this. She said, “Any effort to inquire about our salary has been met with hoggishness and run-around because we have not gotten a definite answer about when we will be paid.”

Junior nurses and nurses’ assistants will sick-out next week if the arrears are not paid to them by the end of the week. One female student nurse threatened, “No pay, no work from Monday.”