Dr Fanny stages one-man sit-in for early payment of allowances |26 March 2022
Seychelles’ first specialised pediatrician surgeon, Dr Marvin Fanny, got an audience with Health Care Agency chief executive, Dr Danny Louange and was able to put forward his and other hospital staff’s concerns after staging a one-man sit-in.
Dr Fanny staged the one-man sit-in as from 6.30am yesterday under the verandah of the Ref Roof building of the Seychelles Hospital.
“I was with a placard from 6.30am at the hospital to protest against the late payment of doctors’ on-call allowances leading to an increase in income taxes when the allowances are refunded. This is not acceptable. I was in early for the sit-in because I wanted to be ready to start work at 8am. The chief executive saw me and invited me for a discussion which I can say was very fruitful,” said Dr Fanny.
He added that some nursing assistants and nurses have this month not been paid their night shift allowances.
“Staff of the health ministry have a lot of grievances and they have shared those with me and some have even expressed themselves on social media. We made known our frustration through letters sent to our superiors after not getting our allowances on time for the previous month.
“I spoke to the chief executive about this issue and also brought to his attention some of the issues health staff have been encountering.
“I emphasised with the chief executive that the ministry should not only be satisfied that it has prepared and issued monthly salaries despite it being late. They need to understand that people have commitments and everyone has a budget. Also, not all workers are able to wait for another month to receive what they are due this month,” said Dr Fanny.
A member of the executive committee of opposition party United Seychelles, Dr Fanny stressed that he decided to do the sit-in not as politician but as a Seychellois citizen and in support of his work colleagues.
“This is not the first time I have represented my work colleagues. I did it when United Seychelles was in power and Mitcy Larue was the health minister. My action has nothing to do with politics, I am only unofficially being the voice of the voiceless,” claimed Dr Fanny.
Contacted by Seychelles NATION late yesterday afternoon to query if all allowances have been paid, Health Care Agency chief executive, Dr Danny Louange, said he has been informed by the financial controller that there are no outstanding allowances.
“But now we have to check with the nursing directorate regarding the complaint received,” said Dr Louange, who added that Dr Fanny has no right to speak on behalf of other health workers.
Gerard Govinden