Abuja — As the strike embarked upon by its members bites harder, the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) Tuesday gave fresh insights into why the strike won’t be called off, thereby calling for understanding of members of the public.

Chairman of JOHESU, Ayuba Wabba, who briefed journalists after a meeting of the union with its affiliate bodies in Abuja, accused the Federal Government of failing to implement any of the rulings from the National Industrial Court in favour of its members, saying: “Where circulars were issued by the federal Ministry of Health, the various federal institutions have flagrantly disobeyed such directives without proper sanction from the ministry, which is a case of the tail wagging the dog.”

He categorised the main demands of the union into three: unconditional and immediate implementation of all collective bargaining agreement and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with JOHESU; full implementation of all judgments in favour of JOHESU by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria; and the implementation of all outstanding demands.

Meanwhile, the Supervising Minister of Health, Khaliru Alhassan, yesterday alerted on how the current strike by health workers had further made Nigeria vulnerable to another possible outbreak of Ebola disease.

The minister, who spoke with journalists in Abuja yesterday, appealed to the workers to return to work, saying that government had done its own part of the bargain.

He said: “We are therefore appealing to members of the JOHESU to come back while we continue to negotiate. For them to leave their place of work is putting a lot of stress on the system and especially on our war against Ebola. JOHESU has a lot of role to play as members of the health team in the prevention of further outbreak of Ebola.

“Keeping away from their duty post is putting Nigeria at risk. We should have the interest of Nigeria in our minds.”

He, therefore, appealed to the health workers to put the interest of Nigerians first while making their demands, adding: “We have done the best of ability and have concluded actions that are supposed be done on the part of the federal Ministry of Health. We are doing them and we will continue to abide by our resolution.

“We have been negotiating with Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) since day one. We have been talking and we have made passionate appeal that there is only one way for us to resolve these issues through negotiation.”

Wabba said: “Between year 2010 and now, when negotiations commenced, JOHESU had met with the Federal Government on more than 10 occasions with no fruitful headway in resolving the issues in dispute. Instead, the Federal Government has been treating our demands with disdain and levity; not minding that our members constitute 95 per cent of entire workforce in the health sector. While we constitute to solicit the patience of our members who have become extremely restive as demonstrated when one of the unions in the health sector made good its threat to embark on strike due to frustration, JOHESU had continued to wait eternally and allow government time with the hope of doing the right thing.

“The Federal Government’s ineptitude and unwillingness to make any meaningful progress on our demands for more than three years now had exposed us to ridicule and insult from the rank and file of our members. Instead of addressing issues in dispute, the Federal Government’s continued tactics of filibustering has in no way helped matters.”

He recalled that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria had ruled that JOHESU members were entitled to skipping of CONHESS 10; eligible to be appointed consultants and should earn specialist allowance; should be promoted to Director on CONHESS 15; and members are right to skip CONHESS 10, just as other civil servants do for Grade Level 11.

He further said: “On the issue of unconditional and immediate implementation of all collective bargained agreements and MoUs signed with JOHESU, the federal Ministry of Health has been finding it difficult to honour agreements wilfully entered into with JOHESU. Such agreements border on addressing the lopsidedness in the membership and composition of boards of management of tertiary health hospitals and increasing in retirement age of health workers from 60 to 65.

“The Federal Government was, and is still grossly unwilling to adjust the CONHESS salary structure of JOHESU members despite the glaring injustice and distortion in salary with COMMESS despite earlier agreeing that earlier adjustment in COMMESS has distorted the parity and ratio of CONHSS and COMMESS.

“JOHESU has overly been patient with the Federal Government in the face of glaring injustice, insensitivity and extreme provocation by the Federal Government. We have been long suffering, mature and over patriotic, which also has its limits. The strike going on is, therefore, a matter of last resort to address government’s lack of commitment, reciprocal goodwill extended to it by JOHESU in resolving our demands on a permanent basis.”
Source: the Guardian

Call the thing off already..

uncle Joe is campaigning, Johesu is striking ....wishing them the best

Let the strike continue....let it go on till your salaries are withheld .

The Federal Govt is about to collapse other profession with their treatment to doctors. Before you know it medicine dpt will gem packed very soon due to the fact dat every parent want his/her ward to be a doctor.