Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Nurses and Nursing Assistants at the Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) have embarked on a strike since February 2. Tšepong nurses want the government to review their salaries which were last visited in 2012.
The other grievance of the nurses and nursing assistants is that they feel hard done to mentor the Ministry of Health (MoH) nurses whose salaries surpass theirs. Meanwhile the Lesotho Nurses Association (LNA) has said that their members deem this move as “unfair”.
“It is unfair to receive salary far less than what their colleagues are getting yet they are working in a tertiary hospital where all complicated services across the country are referred to”.
The LNA has thrown its full weight behind its members who have engaged in industrial action. “As an association, we fully support them and wish that their situation is dealt with as amicable as possible.
”
Last week the association penned a letter requesting for mediation and had addressed it to the Speaker of Parliament, the Parliamentarians, the Senate, the Principal Chiefs, Leaders of Political parties, Community Leaders, Community Councillors, Lesotho Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (LCN), Transformation Resource Center (TRC), Civil Societies of Lesotho and the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL).
The protesters were left behind when the government restructured the salaries of its Nurses and Nursing Assistants in 2012. Informative Newspaper has learned that prior to 2012 the QMMH Nurses and Nursing Assistants were earning higher salaries than their counterparts employed by the MoH and those working under the Christian Association of Lesotho (CHAL) health facilities.
“In 2012, government of Lesotho increased salaries of Nurses and Nursing Assistants and this action left Tšepong Nurses and Nursing Assistants behind.
Tšepong Nurses and Nursing Assistants approached their management … about that issue and they were told that it’s the government of Lesotho [which] has to increase the salaries and the government was saying Tšepong is responsible for their salaries.
This disagreement led to industrial action in 2014. During that time, Nurses were brutally assaulted by Lesotho Mounted Police Service Officers and later on the industrial action [was] resolved.
The dissatisfaction continued and LNA engaged all stakeholders (Tšepong, Ministry of Health, Office of the Prime Minister [and] parliament through social cluster
[portfolio]
) to assist in dealing [with the] matter.
However, there has been no solution to this problem. The situation was aggravated from the 18th January 2021 when Tšepong Management informed Nurses and Nursing Assistants that Tšepong will be another center where Covid-19 confirmed cases will be managed.
Additionally, [the] Ministry of Health will deploy nurses and nursing assistants to assist in managing the cases and Tšepong staff will be allocated to capacitate them (skills sharing),” reads the association letter.
The QMMH Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mothepane Thahane told this publication that it is the onus of the government to review the petitioners’ salaries adding that the hospital finds itself in a position of “grass” in which the two elephants [the Nurses and the MoH] are fighting over.
Thahane said the government is the one that must act to resolve this impasse. Asked how the strike has affected the hospitals operations, the PRO said: “Things are not as ideal as we would like.
The manpower is outside. We are trying very hard. ”
She also noted that the government had brought their nurses since the hospital has been earmarked for accommodating the Covid-19 patients.
“We are doing everything we can to bring things in order,” she concluded. Yesterday the QMMH PRO told this publication that the strike is ongoing and there is going to be a meeting which is hoped to address the grievances.
Informative Newspaper had gone to the press and was unable to establish what was discussed at the meeting. Asked to comment on how the MoH is doing to address the nurses’ challenges the Director-General (DG) Dr.
Lucy Mapota said she could not talk to this reporter as she was in the meeting and the time she said she would be available for comment, the paper had already gone to press.
Meanwhile, LNA President Raphael Tlali had yesterday expressed hope over the MoH, saying they hope that the Ministry will address their members’ problems.
He went on to show confidence with the new Minister of Health Hon. Semano Sekatle who had an audience with the association on Thursday when he took over the new office.
LNA has threatened that if all interventions do not bore expected results they will be “forced to take drastic” measures to protect their members. Asked to unpack what those drastic measures are, the LNA President declined to say.
Netcare South Africa formed a consortium with four companies- Afri’nnani, Excel Health, Women Investment and D 10 Investment of Lesotho in 2008 entered into an 18 year agreement with the Government of Lesotho (GoL) under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative to run QMMH along with Likotsi, Mabote and Qoaling filter clinics through Tšepong (Pty) Ltd consortium. QMMH hospital is a referral hospital and offers tertiary health services.
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