Under the protections of Joint Health Sector Union and Assembly of Health care Professionals (JOHESU). Health workers have withdrawn their service as a result Federal Government inability to fulfill their demands.
The demands of the aggrieved workers include:
- Review of the defective implementation of COVID-19 special inducement and hazard allowance;
- Payment of all withheld salaries of JOHESU members, including April and May 2018 salaries;
- The adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, as was done with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, since 2014.
The strike followed the expiration of the 15-day deadline by JOHESU to the Federal Government to fulfill its demands or it would stop it service.
The delegates of JOHESU had previously met with Ngige, who is the Conciliator-General for the country on Thursday, September 10, over the decision to embark on strike, if government failed to address their grievances.
After its expanded National Executive Council, NEC, meeting on Saturday, September 12, the union said the meeting with government did not address their demand.
The letter to the minister, stating how it was concluded in the previous meeting on September 10, that feed back should be reported with 48hour after the expanded NEC meeting
The letter reads:
“You would recall that at the end of the meeting held in your office on Thursday, September 10, 2020, JOHESU demanded that the outcome of the meeting between JOHESU and the Federal Government be reported back to our expanded NEC meeting and give a feed back to the Federal Government within 48 hours.
“In the light of the above, the meeting of our expanded NEC was held today, Saturday, September 12, 2020. And at the end of the meeting, which was held both physically and virtually, it was unanimously agreed that since nothing concrete was achieved at the said meeting with the Federal Government, that the strike notice is still germane and alive. “Therefore, the 15-day ultimatum still subsists and with effect from midnight of Sunday, September 13, 2020, our members shall withdraw their services due to Federal Government inability to meet their demands.”
The letter was signed by the President of Medical & Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, Biobelemoye Joy Josiah; the union’s Secretary General, Dr. Silas Adamu; A. A. Adenij, President, National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, and the General Secretary, A.A. Shettima.
REACTING TO THE STRIKE, FG SAYS IT IS ILLEGAL
Reacting to the strike, yesterday, the Federal Government described it as illegal, directing unions in the health sector operating under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, not to go ahead with it.
The statement read:
“The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has effectively apprehended the trade dispute as forwarded to him by JOHESU and has brought JOHESU and the Federal Ministry of Health, their employers, to conciliation since Thursday, September 9, 2020. ‘’Parties in disputes are expected not to arm-twist, intimidate or foist helplessness on the other party while negotiations are ongoing as per Sections 8 and 18 the of Trade Dispute Act (TDA) 2004 barring any strike when the matters are before a Conciliator and undergoing conciliation.
“Any strike now is inimical to an equable settlement of the dispute, bearing in mind, especially that this is a grave period of a pandemic where the Federal Government has spent about N20 billion to pay April/May 2020 and an additional N8.9 billion for June 2020 on Covid-19 hazard and inducement allowances respectively to all categories of health workers that are mainly JOHESU members.
“Besides, all Health workers on essential services such -Pharmacists, Nurses/Midwives, Radiographers as members of JOHESU are statutorily barred from strikes during emergencies, by both the ILO Statutes and the Trade Dispute Act 2004.
"Such an action while the nation battles the COVID-19 emergency accentuates its illegality, as it will compound and aggravate the challenges in health services, causing further risk and deaths to the sick in hospitals across the country as the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared as a situation of “Acute National Health crisis” by both the ILO and World Health Organisation (WHO) whose Statutes and regulations have forbidden strike for the period.
SOURCE: Vanguardngr
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