Unpaid nurses call flash strike

THE NURSES of the General Hospital in Paralimni went on strike yesterday morning for one hour demanding that the Minister of Health pays them money still owed to them from June. The unplanned strike occurred between 10am and 11am and involved 154 nurses.

President of the Local Committee of Nurses of Paralimni General Hospital, Marios Polydorou, said: “We staged a spontaneous one-hour stoppage because, since June, we have not been paid our shift allowance, which covers our afternoon and night shifts.” Polydorou added that some staff continued to work during the strike so that patients would be cared for.

Polydorou said that some nurses were struggling to pay their rent without the shift benefits. He also warned that a permanent strike might be called, if the nurses are not paid. “We will give the Department of Health a deadline of three weeks and if our requests are not accepted, then we will take more vigorous measures that will include an indefinite strike,” he said.

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