Nigeria’s Joint Health Workers Union (JOHESU) has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action if the Federal Government fails to fulfil their demands. The union, made up of four registered trade unions, issued a 15-day ultimatum which expires at midnight today.
The health workers are demanding the payment of hazard allowances, an adjustment to the Consolidated Health Salary Structure comparable to the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, and an end to discrimination in the health sector, among other pertinent issues.
Addressing journalists, the JOHESU National Vice Chairman, Dr Obinna Ogbonna, lamented the government’s failure to implement the technical committee’s report on the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (COHESS), which would have addressed their demands. Ogbonna accused the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, of frustrating efforts made towards the implementation of the report.
“Our demands have been a perennial issue. Each time we go on strike, we are being deceived to call it off and nothing happens. The implementation of the recommendations of the technical committee on COHESS would have helped douse tension, but we understand that the Minister of Health refused to submit it to the Federal Executive Council for approval,” Ogbonna stated.
He added, “We are not strike mongers; we have only been pushed to the wall, and the only means to press home our demands is to embark on strike. By midnight today, if no tangible action is taken, we shall have no option than to proceed on an indefinite strike.” Ogbonna called on Nigerians to “prevail on Ehanire to do the needful by presenting the report to the President for the problem to be resolved.”
The JOHESU strike would leave the country’s health facilities paralysed as health workers in state-owned hospitals have also threatened to join the strike, and the existing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is well underway. Efforts to get responses from the health minister had not yielded results as of press time.
As the health sector in Nigeria continues to grapple with recurring strikes and challenges, stakeholders have called on the government to address and resolve the issues at hand to avoid future disruptions and safeguard the health of Nigerians.
