Health workers to begin indefinite strike on Wednesday

Posted by: Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja in News

Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) have agreed to begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday, should the Federal Government failed to address some outstanding trade issues.

Already, the union has recorded a landmark in its struggle as its members have secured consultancy status from government.

According to the National President of the National Union of Allied Health Professional (NUAP), Felix Faniran, who is also the vice president of JOHESU, the government last Thursday formally issued a circular to that effect.

The circular, he said, gave  other health workers the right to become consultants in their various fields.

But he said the government and the unions in JOHESU had not agreed on some other issues.

The unions, Faniran added, had decided to go on an indefinite strike from Wednesday.

His words: “We held a meeting with the secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) on Thursday. The government only released one of the many circulars we told them to release. The one they release was the one in respect to consultancy status, which we say they should correct.

“Other healthcare professionals are recognised as consultants and that it is their professional bodies that have the right to dictate who should be a consultant or not, and not the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and that such people shall be qualified to receive specialist allowance. That is what we have gotten”.

On the indefinite strike by the union, Faniran said: “All other issues, particularly the circular on our salary, which was supposed to be adjusted in January, are yet to be released. Our colleagues – the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) members – have had their own adjusted and circulars have been issued. They are already enjoying a new salary package.

“We are in the same sector. But they are enjoying new salary while we have not gotten the circular yet, let alone implementing it.

“Also, this is already November and budgets have been prepared in all institutions and ours have been prepared on old rate. So, we can no longer wait”.