Peaceful protest to go ahead

Despite the assurance by the Health Minister and the Department of Personnel Management [DPM] to pay nurses their outstanding awards, nurses across the country will go ahead with the sit in protest on Wednesday, April the first.

PNG Nurses Association President Frederick Kebai says this is the wishes of the association members, who do not want commitments from the government, but a clear timeline of when and how the payments will be done.

Mr Kebai has assured that health care services will not be disrupted during the peaceful sit in protest.

Following the nurses' threat last week to protest the non-payment of their outstanding awards for 2025 to 2027, the Health Minister, Health Secretary, and the DPM all responded, with the Health Minister giving an undertaking that the government will honor its end of the bargain and pay nurses accordingly.

This message was forwarded by the PNGNA to it's members and also through the media.

Nurses across the country have responded through their regional representatives that they do not want commitments, but a clear timeline in when the payments will be made

This being the case, the president says the nurses have decided to go ahead with the peaceful sit in protest until their request is actioned.

Assurance was given that patient health care and other related services would not be disrupted in the course of the protest.

The president made it clear that only nurses that are not on active duty will be participating in the sit in protest.

In a statement, the DPM said such protests can only happen when all amicable avenues of negotiations have been exhausted

The PNGNA says the government agreed and signed documents in this regard in 2025, and since then two follow up letters have been send to implementing agencies but to no avail, hence the executive decision to conduct a sit in protest.