HEALTH MINISTRY UNFAZED BY NURSES' STRIKE CALL

"We believe most nurses will not join the strike," ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Suphan Sritham-ma said. "But of course, they have the right to do so," he added.

The network of nurses working at state hospitals as temporary employees has threatened to stage the strike in retaliation for the government's perceived failure to address their grievances.

They have been promised civil-servant status, but have been left disappointed for years.

Suphan, however, explained that his ministry would ensure that all 17,000 nurses working as temporary employees now would get better employment status within three years.

Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong also earlier vowed to turn 4,000 medical workers, including nurses at state hospitals, into civil servants very soon and to offer longer employment contracts to the remaining nurses.

"We will definitely try to solve their problem," he said.

Wannachart Talert, secretary of the protesting nurse network, said some groups of nurses with temporary employee status were happy with the Public Health Ministry's proposed measures because they were invited to the ministry's meetings.

"But the meetings have left out some other groups of nurses," he said.

He said various groups of temporary-employee nurses would meet on SaturdayDecember 1 to decide on their next move.

"We really hope that all temporary-employee-status nurses will be recruited as civil servants," Wannachart said.

Wannawipa Srihomchai, who chairs a network of temporary-status nurses in the Central region, said her group had never been invited to any meeting by the Public Health Ministry.

"If we know for sure that the ministry offers a satisfactory measure, we will not go on strike," she said.