Nigerian health workers declare warning strike

Nigerian health workers under the umbrella of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals have declared a seven-day warning strike to protest the alleged government’s failure to address their members’ welfare issues.

The warning strike starts on Friday (today) and will last till next week Friday, 1 November.

Both bodies have also threatened to embark on an indefinite strike should the government, once again, refuse to address their demands by the end of the seven-day warning strike.

On 10 October, the unions jointly issued the Nigerian government a 15-day ultimatum to accede to their requests or risk their duty posts being deserted.

Demands

As part of their requests, the unions demanded the immediate payment of outstanding salaries to staff of regulatory agencies over the past nine months.

They described the non-payment of regulatory health workers as a clear case of unfair labour practice.

They also described the situation as a violation of relevant provisions of “Extant Labour Laws and International Labour Standards (ILO – Protection of Wages Convention, 95 of 1949) which prescribed payment of wage/salary as and when due to workers.”

However, their requests were not addressed within the 15-day ultimatum as requested.

Speaking on this, the JOHESU National Chairman, Kabiru Minjibir, government’s inaction after multiple correspondences over the past months and failure to acknowledge demands within the 15-day ultimatum issued earlier in the year left the workers with no choice but to embark on a strike.

Mr Minjibir, in a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, said the strike would have been prevented if the Nigerian government had taken the steps outlined “in the Trade Disputes Act Cap. T8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”

This, according to him, would have resolved the dispute during the 15-day strike notice period.

“However, if at the end of the seven (7) days warning strike, the Federal Government fails to meet our demands, JOHESU has no other option than to embark on an indefinite strike action,” he said.

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JOHESU open to dialogue

Mr Minjibir also stated that JOHESU is in an open dialogue with authorities to resolve the issues relating to the welfare and working conditions of members as raised by the union.

He said, “We shall therefore keep all our channels of communication open during this period of seven days warning strike.

“The general public should bear with us all inconveniences the withdrawal of services of health workers under the umbrella of JOHESU might cause during this period.

“JOHESU has always exhibited maturity, selflessness and patriotism even in the face of extreme provocations and the government’s long delay in meeting our demands and we think that our maturity and patriotism have been taken for granted.”

Aside from the payment of outstanding salaries, the unions, among other things, also demanded the immediate restoration of funding to the Environmental Health Regulatory Council and the reconstitution of the boards and governing councils of federal health institutions.

JOHESU and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals, also requested that the process to upwardly review the retirement age of health workers through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) should be fast-tracked.

The umbrella bodies asked that the Nigerian government take cognisance of the impact of the brain drain syndrome on health institutions across the country and review the retirement age from age 60 to 65 for health workers and 70 years for consultants.

They demanded the “Immediate suspension of planned establishment and activities of National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA) as being promoted by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.”