Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has gone a step further in his faceoff with the organised labour in the state as he has sacked all nurses below grade level 14 in the service of the state government for going on strike in solidarity with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The governor also directed the Ministry of Health in the state to immediately advertise vacancies for the replacement of the dismissed nurses.
The governor gave the order in a statement on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, describing the action of the NLC as a “campaign of economic and social sabotage and lawlessness.”
He also warned that any worker not found in his or her place of assignment would be dismissed.
The statement read in part: “KDSG 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 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.
“All MDAs are also to submit daily copies of attendance register to the Head of Service.”
NaijanewsNow reports that Kaduna State has been brought to its knees by the crippling strike action embarked upon by workers in the state in the last 48 hours, as workers in aviation, banking, rail transportation, electricity, health, teaching and many others down tools to protest against the alleged mass sacking of over 60,000 civil servants in the state.
The governor had, also on Tuesday in a tweet, declared the President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba wanted over the strike.
