Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has aggravated the already tense labour/government relationship by firing all nurses below grade level 14 in the state, for embarking on strike in solidarity with the Nigeria Labour Congress.
He went on to direct the Ministry of Health in the state to immediately advertise vacancies for the replacement of the dismissed nurses.
Recall that Kaduna State has been grounded in the last 48 hours as aviation workers, bank workers, rail workers, electricity workers, health workers, teachers, amongst others, joined the protest against the alleged injustice of the El-Rufai-led government and the mass sacking of over 60,000 civil servants.
However, the governor in a statement on Tuesday titled, ‘KDSG will not tolerate criminal acts disguised as industrial action’, described the action of the NLC as a “campaign of economic and social sabotage and lawlessness”.
In the statement signed by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai warned that any worker not found in his or her place of assignment would be dismissed.
It partly read, “KDSG (Kaduna State Government) acknowledges doctors and some other categories of health workers that are trying to run public health facilities, but regrets that some nurses have joined the unlawful strike and engaged in sabotage of some of our health facilities. Nurses were implicated in the forceful discharge of patients in many health facilities.
“Reports from Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital disclosed that some identified nurses disconnected the oxygen supply of a two-day old baby in an incubator on Monday, 17th May 2021. The names of the three nurses from the Special Baby Care Unit who were involved in this despicable act have been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to initiate prosecution for attempted murder or murder in the event we lose the baby.”
The statement added, “The Ministry of Health will dismiss all nurses below GL 14 for going on an unlawful strike. Salaries that could have gone to them are to be given as extraordinary occupational allowances to the health workers who are at their duty posts to fill the gap of those absconding from duty. The Ministry of Health has been directed to advertise vacancies for the immediate recruitment of new nurses to replace those dismissed.
.“Any academic staff of KASU (Kaduna State University) that does not report for work will be dismissed. The authorities of KASU are to submit a copy of the attendance register for all categories of staff daily to the Secretary to the State Governemnt and the Commissioner of Education.”
