Dr. Malau’s commitment was made in a letter conveyed to the nurses last Friday after Port Moresby and Central province nurses rejected an earlier government decision to settle all dues on April 8.
After much negotiation, the settlement date had been reversed to later this month.
In his letter, read to the nurses by the department’s human resource executive director Florian Yambilafan, Malau said: “I do not know what else I can do to convince you; if you cannot trust the words of your head of department. So, to convince you beyond reasonable doubt, I am now committing myself to resign from being the secretary for Health if you do not receive payments on pay period six.”
Elaborating further, PNG Nurses Association Port Moresby branch president Bonita Andrew told her colleagues last Friday: “The government can only move forward as far as pay period six after our push for an immediate settlement since pay five (for March 11) is already being processed.”
Nurses in East Sepik province and Lae, Morobe province, joined the protest last Wednesday.
Malau, however, warned the nurses that their strike was illegal and hospital heads in all provincial and district hospitals were aware of the broad implementation process and would exercise judgment to discipline nurses refusing to return to work.
Port Moresby nurses, however, said last Friday that they would continue with the strike.
At the Wewak General Hospital and other district hospitals throughout East Sepik province, more than 100 nurses had walked off their jobs last Wednesday, protesting that the April 8 salary settlement date was too long.
East Sepik Nurses Association president Agnes Kani said last Friday that the Health Department had made two empty promises to pay them last Dec. 5 and again on Feb. 25 and they did not want another empty promise.
“We want our money now before returning to work. “We do not want to listen to another lie; we want to really see the money,” Kani said.
The sit-in protest was held outside the Wewak Hospital entrance. Two of their members are also in Port Moresby to ensure no one in East Sepik misses out.
