10 August 2007

Nurses Call off Strike in Fiji

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) chief executive Geoff Annals has been advised by the general secretary of the Fiji Nursing Association (FNA) that striking nurses in Fiji will return to work on Saturday.

Mr Annals has been in regular contact with his counterpart in Fiji, Kuini Lutua. On Tuesday Mrs Lutua was one of 20 nurses taken in for questioning by police while staging a peaceful demonstration outside Government Buildings in Suva. The nurses were all released later that day. At that time Mrs Lutua reported that “nurses are not prepared to go back to work until their wages are restored in full even though many are struggling to put food on the table”.

Last Friday the Board of Directors of NZNO decided to make a $5000 grant to assist Fijian nurses in severe hardship as a result of the strike. NZNO has also set up an appeal for donations from NZNO members who want to support their Fijian colleagues. Donations may be made at any ANZ bank by specifying they are for the NZNO Fiji Nurses’ Relief Fund.

Mrs Lutua said, “Today members have decided to move their concerns to the High Court for resolution and to return to work on Saturday.” She said, “I believe our concerns have at last been recognised. We know we will get a proper hearing through the High Court.”

Mr Annals said, “The political situation in Fiji is very complex and Mrs Lutua has made it clear throughout the dispute the FNA has no wish to undermine the authority of the interim Government. Their objective is to maintain decent health services in Fiji. “We can live on poor wages.” Sais Mrs. Lutua, “That is not our concern. But in the long term we cannot keep enough nurses here in Fiji to maintain decent health services unless wages are brought up to a fair level.”
New Zealand nurses understand that concern and strongly endorse the concerns of their Fijian colleagues. NZNO supports them wholeheartedly in every responsible action they take to resolve their concerns. The FNA has adhered to all legal requirements in taking this industrial action. Nurses deserve to have their concerns fully addressed.

Mr Annals said NZNO remains very concerned about the circumstances that led to the protracted dispute between members of the Fiji Nursing Association (FNA) and their employers. Around 1200 nurses and medical orderlies have been on strike since Wednesday 25 July. Earlier this year Fiji’s interim government imposed a 5 percent pay cut and axed many jobs by lowering the retirement age from 60 to 55. Nurses are seeking to reverse these measures. The crude cost cutting measures have hastened the exodus of nurses from Fiji’s already stretched health system and placed the future of Fiji’s health services in jeopardy.

ENDS

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