Faced with a slew of allegations ranging from financial misappropriation to buying votes for electing nominees to the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council (KNMA), the United Nurses’ Association (UNA) has claimed it is ready for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into its functioning.
M. Jasminsha, national president of the trade union that was in the forefront of the agitation seeking decent wages for nurses in private hospitals in Kerala, told The Hindu on Tuesday, “Audited balance sheets of our financial transactions will be presented before the UNA general council to be held in Thrissur on Wednesday. It will be later uploaded into our website. We will also cooperate with any probe.” He also termed the allegations against the organisation baseless.
Inquiry
Sibi Mukesh, former vice-president, UNA, last week petitioned the State Police Chief for an inquiry into some of financial transactions. He had alleged that the chauffeur of Mr. Jasminsha had withdrawn money from the organisation’s account.
Money was also paid to a private company without mentioning its intent. Mr. Mukesh claimed that his demand for a financial statement was rejected.
Later, Beljo Aliyas, a former State joint secretary of the UNA, shot off a letter to the organisation, claiming that there was no bank account in the name of the trade union and that it was in the name of a society. He claimed that the monthly levy paid by around 10,000 of UNA members was not being accounted for. The Kerala Government Nurses’ Association, a Left-leaning organisation, too later came up with an allegation that the UNA leaders had paid money for buying votes from its members to elect representatives to the KNMA.
Mr. Jasminsha said that the organisation was first registered as a society in 2011 to take forward the agitation of nurses. It took the form of a trade union only in 2012 and got a proper structure only in 2016. The process of collecting the membership fee too started only in recent years.
