Luanda- Nurses Union of Angola (SINDEA) suspended Wednesday the general strike that was taking place since Monday, after reaching an agreement with the Health Ministry (MINSA).
During the negotiations, MINSA committed itself to resolving 90 percent of the claims presented by the SINDEA.
In the claim book presented in 2021, to MINSA, the class demands, among others, wage increases and improvements in working conditions, the payment of a Covid-19 subsidy and the conclusion of the career transition process suspended since 2019.
According to the Health minister, Silvia Lutucuta, who led the negotiation, an agreement has been reached towards the nurses' union demands.
Silvia Lutucuta advanced that there was a fracturing point that had to do with the Covid-19 subsidies, having transmitted to the union the existence of legal instruments that give support to this practice, especially for the professionals who were in the front line in the fight against the pandemic.
The minister pointed out that the subsidy will not be generalized, but will only benefit the professionals who had a direct intervention in the fight against Covid-19.
"Nurses are the backbone of the National Health Service, so they deserve their valorization (…)," the minister said.
In relation to nursing subsidies, the minister said that the issue has been clarified and that it will be 15 percent, having explained that subsidies have already been paid to about 85% of the professionals all over the country, totaling 30,000 professionals.
Regarding the updating of categories, Silvia Lutucuta said this is being done with the support of the Finance Ministry.
In the last five years, the sector has seen an increase of 33,000 new health professionals, of which more than 20,000 are nurses admitted in the last two public tenders.
The secretary-general of the Luanda Nursing Union, Antonio Kileba, on his turn, praised the agreement reached for the opening of an internal public contest, the payment of retroactive payments and the promotion of categories.
"It was worth our insistence. We had been claiming between 80% and 90% and they were accepted. The commission that was created will start working on Friday and the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security will be present and will analyze the proposals", he said.
The nursing professionals are also demanding the payment of retroactive amounts related to the nursing career, the professional promotion with more than five years of service and the realization of internal public tender.
