Nurses Association nears pay agreement with gov’t amid 75th anniversary celebrations

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ABNA says its nurses have gone above and beyond the call of duty on many occasions (Photo courtesy Shutterstock)
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By Robert A Emmanuel

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The Nurses Association (ABNA) which has long been fighting for a pay increase for its members says negotiations with government are drawing to a close.

The body’s second vice-president Michelle Lyons was speaking on the Observer AM show amid the association 75th anniversary celebrations.

In August, the Cabinet green-lit several proposals by the ABNA aimed at addressing critical concerns and incentivising nurses.

Yesterday, Lyons gave an update on the negotiations for a new contract for nurses.

“As the immediate executive members, we have to encourage our body because they too become frustrated and we, as the executive body, become frustrated at times but it is a process and we are trying our best to work with the process, to move forward and see how we can do it in an amicable way,” Lyons explained.

She said the executive is hoping to meet with the general body next week to complete the agreement.

“We are almost there, we just have to be resilient and keep pushing for what we want because … there is no amount of money in the world that can pay nurses or healthcare professionals on a whole for the sacrifice and the work that we do,” she said.

ABNA’s 75th anniversary festivities are being held under the theme ‘Celebrating our Profession’.

“Several years ago, a nurse had a vision to establish a professional organisation that would be a light of hope, championing the cause for better working conditions for its members as well as the provision of excellent nursing care delivery for the population, and that dream became a reality on the 16 October 1948,” Lyons explained.

“Our nurses have gone above and beyond the call of duty on many occasions…sometimes you are out with your family, and you get a call from someone to assist here or there, and we are always on the go.

“Sometimes, we don’t even talk about being paid because sometimes we do things and we are not paid for it, but we do it sacrificially and that shows how committed we are as healthcare professionals.”

Lyons spoke more about events taking place this week, saying that Wednesday will feature a free mental health webinar and there will be a gala on Saturday night to celebrate the work of former nurses within the association.

She encouraged the public to lift the nurses and the healthcare system as a whole and said she was appreciative of the work that the young executive team has been doing to advocate for the nursing profession thus far.

“Nursing is a calling; no ordinary person on the street can go and be a nurse, it must be in you,” she added.

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