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Health workers go on strike
By JAMES APA GUMUNO
MORE than 150 provincial health workers in
the Western Highlands province started a sit-in protest yesterday and
petitioned the provincial administrator to remove the Memorandum of
Agreement (MoA) signed in 2003.
The health workers gave a 21-day notice to the acting administrator
Michael Wandil to respond to their petition.
The 154 health workers from the seven districts in their signed petition
said they would not carry out their normal duties until the MoA was
nullified.
The health workers said they would only attend to emergency cases.
They claimed that the MoA signed between the Western Highlands
provincial government on behalf of the health division, Mt Hagen General
Hospital Board of Management and National Health Department on Sept 21,
2003, to improve delivery of health services was not working and as a
result, hindered the delivery of health services to the people.
Under the agreement, the provincial health workers were transferred from
the provincial administration to the care of hospital board and its
management.
The group’s spokes people said the health services provided in the
province was declining unlike five years ago.
They openly told Mr Wandil, his deputy Leo Meniniga, chief executive
officer of Mount Hagen General Hospital Dr James Kintwa that because of
the MoA, the delivery of health services in the province were badly
affected.
They said the proposals set in the MoA were not properly implemented
since it was signed four years ago and at the same time, no evaluation
done by concerned authorities.
They claimed that as announced by the Health Department, the performance
of the division of health in the province dropped from third place to
13th in the country, judged from the 21 performance core indicators.
It was alleged that the MoA was not signed by the Secretary for National
Department of Personnel Management, Mr Wandil, Public Employee’s
Association, Health Extension Association, PNG Nursing Association and
Community Health Workers Association.
 
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