Health workers begin strike at midnight if demands not met
Workers in Nigeria’s health sector say they will embark on strike midnight today if their demands are not met.
The proposed strike involves the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) and Assembly of Healthcare Professionals Association (AHPA).
The unions had earlier stated that the strike would begin on September 30, in a release signed by the National President, Obinna Ogbonna and the national secretary, Ayinde Obisesan,
“Considering other mobilisation factors and to give the government further room to address our demands, come 30th September 2017, if the government refuses to meet our demands, the union will have no other option than to shut down health care services nationwide.”
Some of their complaints include non- payment of a backlog of arrears; residency training for other health professionals; appointments of consultants and payment of specialists’ allowances, among others.
However, in a recent development, JOHESU had revealed that they would begin a nationwide strike today.
They complained that their demands have not been met. The union’s demands include payment of arrears of specialist allowances and upgrade of their members due for promotion.
“On the 10th May, 2012, agreements were reached on issues concerning our members. We were in court till August 2013 when judgment was given in favour of JOHESU on skipping of CONHESS 10.
“As we speak, the Federal Government has not paid arrears of the skipping to our members. The Federal Ministry of Health has been frustrating the implementation of the court judgments by introducing same scale promotion,” the National Chairman of JOHESU, Josiah Joy Biobelemoye said.
Biobelemoye further revealed that the Teaching Hospitals Act gave independence to different tertiary hospitals, the same way they have their separate Boards of Management, dissimilar from the governing councils of the universities.
This explanation led to the final ultimatum of seven days which took effect from Thursday 14th September, 2017, and ends 12 midnight today, after which all members nationwide would begin an indefinite total strike action.
Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has appealed to the leadership of JOHESU, requesting that its members desist from embarking on the planned strike.
Adewole said, “Government has continued its negotiation with the union and hopes that issues in contention would be addressed through consensus.”