Unemployed nurses begin non-stop sit-in today

Unemployed nurses on Sunday alleged that the government initiative to appoint them against vacant posts of ‘senior staff nurse’ through recruitment tests was ‘a clear business.’
They made the allegation in a memorandum submitted to the prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the health minister Mohammad Nasim, following rallies at the National Shaheed Minar and National Press Club in the capital, respectively.
Bangladesh Diploma Bekar Nurses’ Association and Bangladesh Basic Graduate Nurses’ Society jointly organised the rally demanding recruitment of nurses applying previous rules of appointment. They argued that the previous rules were based on passing out batches, intelligence and their seniority.
The nurses protested against the March 30 police attack on the rally organized by the jobless nurses at Shahbagh to press home their demand.
Over one thousand jobless nurses joined the rally at the Shaheed Minar and then in front of the National Press Club, wearing black badges.
As the protesters held demonstration from 1:00pm to 3:30pm blocking the road in front of the National Press Club, the roads of the surrounding areas experienced severe traffic congestion.
Speakers at the rally said as per the World Health Organization standards, the country needed about two lakh of nurses now while the country had only 20,500 registered care-givers.
The Awami League government, they said, during its tenure since 2009, appointed 6,500 nurses in two phases on the basis of passing out batch, intelligence and seniority. But, on March 28, the Public Service Commission published an advertisement to appoint 3,616 nurses through recruitment examinations, they said.
They said the PM in 2014 had announced that 10,000 new posts of nurses would be created but the pledge did not come true.
BDBNA president Rina Akhter who presided over the rally, said, they would begin non-stop sit-in in front of the National Press Club from Monday morning to press home their demand.
BBGNS president Rajib Kumar Biswas and general secretary Nahida Akhter and BDBNA general secretary Farukh Hossain also addressed the rally.
A team of leaders of the two organisations were escorted by police around 3:00pm to submit the memo to the PM and the health minister at the secretariat.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net