COPS CALLED AS RFM NURSES DOWN TOOLS

MANZINI – Cops had to be called in after Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital nurses protested and neglected patients for about four hours to deliver a petition to their chief executive officer (CEO).

The nurses and other employees protested and danced outside the hospital’s main emergency entrance after the gates had been closed by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).

The staff was demanding to meet and deliver the petition to Eswatini National Health Institution (ENHI) CEO Benjamin Simelane.
The CEO arrived a while later and he was escorted by senior REPS officers, inclusive of newly-appointed Manzini Police Station Commander Dumisani Dube.
When approaching the over 30 protesting employees, they were heard welcoming him by screaming out loud and saying, ‘Nang’babe ncenceshelele, uze ufike Mnguni maye siyabonga’.

The petition, which was read out loud by the Unit Committee Chairperson, Simphiwe Sakhile Maziya, cited the pending issues employees have with the management, which they said had dragged for months without any solutions.

“It is unfortunate that we have lost a negotiating forum with management following a deadlock. We are on the third week since we submitted a petition of vote of no confidence to the Principal Human Resources Manager, Stephen Dlamini but there has been no update on the subject matter.

“We therefore demand an update to be followed by a resolution within 14 days from this day. It is worth noting that the officer in question is still hands-on with nursing issues, yet the hospital had appointed Ms Simphiwe to handle nurses’ issues.

“We strongly recommend that Stephen Dlamini refrains from attending nurses’ issues with immediate effect to avoid further retaliation,” the petition read.
The petition further stated that the nurses were greatly disappointed by management, which seemed not to be bothered by the fact that they had abandoned wearing their self-financed uniform for four months now.

The employees revealed that ENHI had shown no commitment in trying to resolve the matter when in fact it was mandated by the law to provide the uniform.
“We demand that ENHI should take action in 14 days from this day, or nurses will report to work in outrageous outfits. In one of the nullified meetings, the then management promised to start formulating the uniform policy as demanded by the nurse and mandated by the chief nursing officer.

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