Strike: Expedite Action On Our Demands, JOHESU Warns FG
SAVERAL weeks after health workers under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, suspended its strike, the Union is urging President Mohammadu Buhari to expedite action on the demand for adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS,, CONHESS, as done for Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, and other of their demands.
Making this position in a press statement signed by its Acting National Secretary, Comrade Matthew Ajurotu on behalf of its National Chairman, the Union urged the Federal government should be wise to avoid what it described as a looming night of contending long knives.
They warned that in order that things don’t degenerate from the strategic junctures of the personal intervention of President Buhari, the Presidency should immediately prevail on the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH, and Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, ML&E, to resolve all contending issues promptly.
He further disclosed that the various consultative meetings of the JOHESU/AHPA leadership and National Executive Committee began 20th of August and the 7th of September, 2022 to review the progress made as regards their suspended strike.
He said one of the critical items on the agenda of the meeting remains the progress report on the suspended JOHESU strike which was an effort demonstrated to show respect to President Buhari.
“The JOHESU/AHPA finds it imperative to convey its gratitude to the FG for ensuring fairness and justice are dispensed to all segments of the perennially troubled Health Sector in Nigeria. “We find it very necessary to put on record our deep appreciation of efforts to get JOHESU/AHPA members paid their long withheld April and May 2018 salaries due to high wire schemes and intrigues of our sector which played out at high levels and compelled the avoidable and unnecessary seizures of the salaries of our members.
Thanking the Presidency for ensuring that significant sums of money were budgeted to cater for special personnel wages in all sectors including Health, JOHESU accused the FMOH of frustrating every meaningful attempt at redressing their demands.
They further highlighted their 2021 demands to include; adjustment of CONHESS as was done for CONMESS, payment of Reviewed Hazard Allowances and other Welfare Packages, implementation of Consultant Cadre for Pharmacists in the Public Service, and adjustment of CONHESS as was done for CONMESS.
“We find it necessary to inform you that agitation for this started eight and a half years ago when the federal government adjusted the CONMESS for Physician Cadre in Federal Public Service.
“The Chief Conciliator of the Federation and Hon. Minister of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment as well as his counterpart in the Federal Ministry of Health set up a Technical Committee to redress the pain of adjusting the CONHESS after eight and a half years of rigmarole. This assignment was concluded in December 2021 and for reasons of manipulations by the FMOH, all efforts to implement the report of the Technical Committee have been stalled in the last 8 months.
“The National Assembly has presently provided a sum of N200 billion service-wide vote which is earmarked to take care of exigencies in the system including N80 billion provided for adjustment of CONHESS as was done for CONMESS for JOHESU members and other needs in the Health Sector.”
JOHESU said despite the payment of withheld April and May 2018 salaries for JOHESU members, some withheld salaries for their members in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, JUTH and LUTH who had challenges with their management are still unpaid.
They lamented that the development was worrisome as it continues to generate entropy in those facilities.
JOHESU called on the Presidency to intervene in the demand in the interest of the country.
On the payment of reviewed hazard allowances and other welfare packages, the Union said for over six months in 2021, JOHESU/AHPA negotiated the payment of the allowances to health workers while the government continuously gave assurances that over N40B had been earmarked for the exercise.
Eight months down the line, we observe with disappointment that the Federal government has not commenced the disbursement of the allowances which the government negotiating team admitted was grossly insufficient to cater for the risk factors inherent in care-provisioning in any functional Health System.
“In a similar spirit, we strongly urge you to once again facilitate the implementation of the increase in retirement age of Health workers from 60 to 65 years while that of Consultants in non-Physician Cadre be increased to 70 years.”
