God bless you for knowing and saying the truth.

VERDA:


Are you sure you read what was written??,they actually want equal pay with doctors.

JOHESU isn't looking for the same pay as doctors. What we want is an increment in salary as was done for doctors.
Since 2014 doctors salary as been increased twice and no adjustment on health workers salary.
You talk of relativity, does that mean doctors salary should be increased twice and nothing done for the others?
As it is now a doctor on housemanship fresh from University is earning more than a Chief Nursing Officer who had already put in 30 years of employment.
What sought of relativity is that?

Jexyme:

They never asked for equal pay. The minister isn't saying the truth.

.

noted

JOHESU consists of 5 registered professional trade union and their demand include the following: improve health care financing, employment of additional health professional, an upward adjustment of CONHESS, upward review of retirement age from 60 - 65 years, arrears of skipping CONHESS 10. they are not asking for the same salary with the doctors. they want a review of salary structures. if in abroad, doctors don't collect the same salary, neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons earn more the family medicine doctors but there is the comfort.the government should accede to johesu request.

femianski:
why are people so ignorant like this and being deceived by the health minister lies
well doctors and the other health workers can't be collecting the same salary
but johesu is only asking for an adjustment in their salary scale which was done for doctors

God bless u
So many dumb and unintelligent people on this thread. SMH. if doctors salary was adjusted, why can't it be adjusted for others too? Already their is relativity, nobody is asking for that to be remove, but why adjusting salary for a side and leave other side. Foolishness

EsotericMonk:
Some comments above show that many of us are either ignorant or blinded by sentiments.
JOHESU want to do away with relativity, they want skipping, they want to earn call duty allowance or its equivalent, they want specialist allowance which when taken into consideration puts them at par with the doctors. Its only in a shithole country that these demands are made. The world over, every professional know the limit of their expertise and entitlement, but in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
Let's keep at it, we're already on self destruct mode.

you can never be at par with the doctor, can't you just get that? It's not attainable anywhere. I think very soon Johesu will cause the privatization of the health care system, that's the road we're headed.

bolinjkezzy:
Increasing the salary of johesu members by a thousand automatically mean an increase in doctors salary because there is a certain ratio to be maintained which is why fg will not increase their salary for now except there is something both party are not telling us.

So why was the salary of doctors increased in 2014, 2016, 2017 respectively without relatively increasing that of johesu members? That is the agitation, and the minister is trying hard to tarnish the image of johesu members. Just adjust it respectively that's all

lightness77:
you can never be at par with the doctor, can't you just get that? It's not attainable anywhere. I think very soon Johesu will cause the privatization of the health care system, that's the road we're headed.

No one is asking to be at equal pay with doctors, but if doctors salary has been increase twice since 2014, don't u think is just fair for other health workers salary to be increase too? Don't u just get it? SMH!

Am not advocate for equal pay but since health workers started their strick the doctors are not doing anything with just excuses that are not tenable pls let government do something quick because souls are perishing through this strick our hospitals is like ghost city now I know a patient that need operation and doctor told him they can not do it alone without other health workers our leaders should have value for life of Nigerian

H

lightness77:
you can never be at par with the doctor, can't you just get that? It's not attainable anywhere. I think very soon Johesu will cause the privatization of the health care system, that's the road we're headed.

To whose benefit will be the privatization

erikoko:
Its not unreasonable. N dey r not asking to b on d same scale. But to also increase d scale as dey did for d doctors in Nov 2017. D minister of health s a doctor na. So whom will he support

You saw it outright there, they want to be on same salary structure with doctors no just increase on their own

Am not in support of their strike before, but with these nonsense that health minister is saying, may johesu never resume until their demand is met. Ase!

Jexyme:

They never asked for equal pay. The minister isn't saying the truth.

noted

PrinceOyinlola:
Am not advocate for equal pay but since health workers started their strick the doctors are not doing anything with just excuses that are not tenable pls let government do something quick because souls are perishing through this strick our hospitals is like ghost city now I know a patient that need operation and doctor told him they can not do it alone without other health workers our leaders should have value for life of Nigerian

leave them now, Doctors should be able to do it now, since they are the Alfa and omega of hospitals. They never see chinchunchin

Geesaintagape:
I'm not a Dr but i know the pay system is in ratio even in canada, usa n Australia so what exactly does johesu mean by salary increase for the bodies.? Is it to remove the ratio or top up 4 all in same ratio?

A medical doctor entering civil service suppose to be one level ahead of other health proffessionals because their years of training is one year ahead of other health proffessionals ,As we start on conhess 9 ,they suppose to start on equivalent of conhess 10 ,but now,they start on equivalent of conhess 11 ,this is greedness ,Relativity is the difference in call duty .A medical doctor receives 200% of his basic salary as call duty whereas other health proffessionals receive 40% of their basic salary as call duty ,That is why they don't want conhess to be adjusted

dokiOloye:
Who was the first lab scientist?
Who was the first pharmacist?
Who was d first physiotherapist?
I guess you know already.

I even think the officr of chief pharmacist and other offices he actually mentioned are even being officiated currently by heads of the respective dept

It'd just greed and inferiority complex that's getting to these numbheads

lightness77:
. . It's the same globally, stop complaining. A nurse in USA earns about $32.66 hourly while a medical doctor earns $80 hourly. Find out how's its done elsewhere before clamoring for unattainable goals.

Very bland argument. did you notice that $80 an hour is for a specialist/consultant, while $32 may be for an entry level nurse?

Olaoladimeji:

JOHESU isn't looking for the same pay as doctors. What we want is an increment in salary as was done for doctors.
Since 2014 doctors salary as been increased twice and no adjustment on health workers salary.
You talk of relativity, does that mean doctors salary should be increased twice and nothing done for the others?
As it is now a doctor on housemanship fresh from University is earning more than a Chief Nursing Officer who had already put in 30 years of employment.
What sought of relativity is that?

Who told you that an house officer earned more than a CNO? ehn, pls stop this. Yayale Ahmed's report should be implemented to solve this brouhaha once and for all.

EsotericMonk:
Some comments above show that many of us are either ignorant or blinded by sentiments.
JOHESU want to do away with relativity, they want skipping, they want to earn call duty allowance or its equivalent, they want specialist allowance which when taken into consideration puts them at par with the doctors. Its only in a shithole country that these demands are made. The world over, every professional know the limit of their expertise and entitlement, but in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
Let's keep at it, we're already on self destruct mode.

Their demand hasn't been met. The minister said that it can't be possible. Yet, you are already referring to the country as shithole. Do this really give you guys joy calling your country shithole even when there's no justification for it?

cutechioma1:

A medical doctor entering civil service suppose to be one level ahead of other health proffessionals because their years of training is one year ahead of other health proffessionals ,As we start on conhess 9 ,they suppose to start on equivalent of conhess 10 ,but now,they start on equivalent of conhess 11 ,this is greedness ,Relativity is the difference in call duty .A medical doctor receives 200% of his basic salary as call duty whereas other health proffessionals receive 40% of their basic salary as call duty ,That is why they don't want conhess to be adjusted

Hahaaa! Pls let us argue with facts, an house officer enters at CONMESS1 which is equivalent of CONHESS9. It is resident doctors that get skipped at conmess 2 to conmess3 becos other health workers(Johesu) also skipped level.

Read this and you will know more about the strike and what JOHESU truly wants.

Chief of Staff to the President
Senate President
Speaker, House of Representatives
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health
Chairman, House Committee on Health Institutions
Honourable Minister of Health
Honourable Mister of Finance
Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning
Honourable Minister of State for Health
Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
Chairman, National Salaries Income and Wages Commission
Permanent Secretary, FMOH
Department of Hospital Services FMOH
DG, Budget Office of the Federation (BOF)
Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN)
Our Stand on the Current JOHESU Strike and NMA Rejoinder
25th April, 2018
The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment,
Federal Secretariat,
Abuja
Sir,
We bring you greetings from the entire membership of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN).
1. We are constrained to write this letter stating our stand on the current JOHESU led strike action by healthcare workers in the country and the contemptible, condemnable stand of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) against the strike as contained in their rejoinder titled “RE: AN URGENT CALL FOR AN INTERVENTION TO REDRESS ABERATIONS IN HEALTH SERVICE IN NIGERIA.”
A lot has been written in the print and electronic media about the merits or otherwise of the strike action by several interest groups. What is coming as a surprise however is the self serving and recalcitrant stand of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) against the JOHESU led strike action. The rejoinder concluded with “The NMA wishes to humbly restate her earlier positions as contained in our letter no NMA/PRE/SG/03/0751 dated 21st March, 2014 which ended thus: “in view of the above, the NMA painfully wishes to inform the Federal Government of Nigeria that any award to the non-medically qualified health professionals that violate the January and July agreements of 2014 shall result in the resumption of the suspended withdrawal of service of 2014.”
Honourable Minister Sir, we are amazed at the level of half truths and outright falsehood contained in the so called rejoinder, to the point that we are forced to ask the following questions: What does the NMA really want? Whose interest is she really serving? For how long will the NMA continue in this her shameless game of subtle and or outright blackmail of successive Nigerian governments to dance to the tunes of some hawks in their midst? When will the NMA stop defrauding the Nigerian economy in the guise of “maintaining collective agreement reached with the Federal Government?
2. We are not prepared to join issues with the NMA word for word, because that has already been addressed by several other write ups. However, we are appalled by the statement credited to the NMA to the effect that “Ordinarily, we would not have any basis to interfere but for the risk some of the demands pose to the collective bargaining agreement the NMA had with the Federal Government in 2014 and the possible consequent disruption of peace in the health sector.”
We are disappointed that the NMA keeps making reference to the so called “collective bargaining agreement the NMA had with the Federal Government in 2014,” an agreement obtained by hoodwinking and deceiving the then President to sign in his visitors room in the early hours of January, 2014, without reading the contents or its cost implications for the Nigerian economy. The same government that signed the NMA document and promised other healthcare workers adjusted salary increase reneged on that promise after losing the elections which they (NMA) promised to support him to win and which he lost eventually. That singular act of the then government is one of the reasons for the lack of peace that has bedeviled Nigeria’s healthcare sector till today. You cannot be talking about a collective bargaining agreement when only one party (in this case only medical doctors) were in attendance. As an association, we are not opposed to the jumbo salary increase approved for medical doctors in 2014, but we believe that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. We urge the federal government to sign and circularize the salary adjustment agreed with JOHESU members in 2014 without further delay.
3. The NMA unwittingly gave the impression of collusion between her and the federal government in their callous and shameless decision to unleash reign of destabilization, chaos and near anarchy in the health sector, an assertion we find difficult to believe. According to the NMA, “We are aware that this group (referring to JOHESU) has vowed that there can never be peace in the health sector until practices unknown to international standards; court judgments, culture/traditions are entranced (sic) in the nation’s public health sector. They appeared to have succeeded largely in the past until the inception of this government. This government has worked hard to revamp and sustain international best practices and uphold the laws of the federation amidst constitutional provisions.” We see this as another attempt by the NMA to arm twist this government to acquiesce to their nefarious request
4. We wish to dissociate ourselves from the NMA stand, and completely align ourselves to the stand of JOHESU on all issues raised, including the following:
 Approve and circularize upward review of CONHESS Salary Structure, having done same for medical doctors.
 Appointment of Chief Executive Officers for federal teaching hospitals and federal medical centers and appointment of deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC)
 Payment of backlog of arrears as a result of skipping of CONHESS 10
 Employment of more staff to strengthen the health sector
 Release of circulars for reviewed retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
 Implementation of National Industrial Court of Nigeria judgments in favour of JOHESU
 Appointment of non medical consultants.\
 Review of the Composition of the Boards of Federal Health Institutions (the current scenario is such that 62% of board members are reserved exclusively for medical doctors, in a ministry that boasts of over twelve other health disciplines. It is on record that no single pharmacist was appointed a member of board of any of the over 53 federal tertiary health institutions in the recent exercise)
5. Honourable Minister Sir, we want to specifically identify with the stand of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) on the current crises in the health sector, as contained in her recent letter to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In particular, we agree with the PSN where she stated that “it is important to draw you down memory lane that contrary to the superiority mentality created in some quarters; pharmacists and doctors entered the public service on the same grade level up till 1991.In Nigeria, pharmacists started on GL 08 Step 2, while doctors entered on GL 08 Step 3 because of the one year difference in the duration of training. This was the pattern till the Olikoye Kuti leadership in the Federal Ministry of Health got the military administration of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida to approve the Medical Salary Scale (MSS) a discriminatory salary wage in favour of medical doctors in public service. The MSS obviously disrupted the equilibrium of public sector wages as it became the basis for other doctoral players request for exclusive wages in the health sector.”
We make bold to state Sir, that therein marked the genesis of the protracted crisis in the health sector which has defied successive governments ever since. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo came in with the Consolidated Tertiary Health Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS) which effectively narrowed the huge gap in wage bill among all workers in the health sector, including medical doctors. That arrangement brought some reprieve to the sector.
6. Peace has eluded the healthcare sector in Nigeria since 1991 because our medical doctors have refused to accept collaboration as a necessary working tool for harmony in the sector, as is the case in every other country in the world. All of us in the hospital setting attend to the same patient at different points of care. Granted that the medical doctor sees the patient first, but then that is by virtue of his training which involves making a diagnosis, among others. There are specific roles for other healthcare workers as part of the care process. The pharmacist ensures that the right medication is given to the right patient with the right diagnosis at the right cost, also by virtue of his training. The nurse comes in at a point with nursing care, the medical laboratory scientist conducts tests to assist the doctor in making a diagnosis. Ditto for other healthcare professionals. There is no tertiary hospital anywhere in the world where a patient just walks in, sees the medical doctor only and walks out without undergoing the care process and then claims to have been attended to in a hospital. Every professional has a defined role to play in the care process, this is what obtains in developed countries; this explains why medical tourism is high in those countries, because of their near excellence standards.
7. Back home in Nigeria, the medical doctors insist on running a one man show, from heading clinical services, heading laboratory services, radiology, pathology and if they have their way, pharmacy and nursing services. This is why the health sector in Nigeria has refused to move forward. Medical doctors have held successive governments in Nigeria to ransom, abandoning their Hippocratic Oath and insisting on heading hospitals and every department in the Federal Ministry of Health. They threaten strike action with or without provocation not minding their Hippocratic Oath and leave Nigerians to die in their thousands just to massage their ego and insatiable urge for money. They have largely succeeded because successive governments have refused to call their bluff even at the expense of the lives of ordinary Nigerians. The disparity in wage bill between medical doctors and other healthcare professionals has assumed monstrous proportion and is not obtainable anywhere else including the military, judiciary, universities and research institutes.
8. Way Forward
Honourable minister Sir, it is obvious that the health sector in Nigeria cannot continue the way it is going for much longer. Drastic approach is needed to sanitize the sector and bring in lasting peace.
i. As a lasting solution, we are advocating harmonization of the wage bill of workers in the health care sector such that there will be a unified or consolidated salary structure where every health professional will enter the scale based on their duration of training, with higher steps reserved for those disciplines with longer duration of training. This is also the stand of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and other professional associations.
ii. It is ridiculous and unheard of that one professional body should dictate the salary of her members and those of other professionals in that sector. As an association, we will not accept salaries and allowances dictated for us by the NMA.
iii. We are asking that the federal government appoints pharmacists as members of boards of federal tertiary health institutions as was done for other health professionals in the spirit of equity.
iv. Government should call the bluff of the NMA for once and implement reforms in the health sector that favour the ultimate good of the Nigerian people and that will usher in lasting peace and tranquility in the sector. Government must never panic nor be in a hurry to dance to the tunes of NMA at the least threat. In other climes including Ghana, their governments always call the bluff of medical associations whenever they threaten strike action, by employing Asian trained doctors to replace them. And of course they have always recapitulated. Nigerian government is encouraged to employ the same tactics.
Conclusion
There is a saying that only a fool will keep doing the same thing every time and expect a different result or outcome. The macabre dance in Nigeria’s health care sector has lasted for too long. Enough is enough. It is time for the sector to move forward. Government should not hesitate to take the lead. A stitch in time saves nine.


Please accept assurances of our esteemed regards.

Pharm. Martins Oyewole MAW Pharm. Jelili Kilani
National Chairman AHAPN National Secretary


Cc:
Chief of Staff to the President
Senate President
Speaker, House of Representatives
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health
Chairman, House Committee on Health Institutions
Honourable Minister of Health
Honourable Mister of Finance
Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning
Honourable Minister of State for Health
Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
Chairman, National Salaries Income and Wages Commission
Permanent Secretary, FMOH
Department of Hospital Services FMOH
DG, Budget Office of the Federation (BOF)

The doctors sees the hospital as their shrine ,themselves as the #chiefpriest and other health care workers as passersby...

Their apprehension is as a result of fear of loosing their grip/base in the hospital...

Remove them from the hospital, they become of little use to the society and to themselves.

Health care provision I believe is a collective effort and not just the solo work of the doctores. Like the saying goes, 'success in most endeavors is a team effort and not a solo performance '

They head most organisation,/association that makes decision on health care delivery ,reason why most decision favours them...

adeblow:

So why was the salary of doctors increased in 2014, 2016, 2017 respectively without relatively increasing that of johesu members? That is the agitation, and the minister is trying hard to tarnish the image of johesu members. Just adjust it respesctively that's all

The salary that was adjusted in 2016 was just being implemented in 2018, that's the reason they went on strike recently and it was increased in such a way that the ratio was not too exceeded

see better organized body not like Nigerian Society of Engineers that lacks ideas. it's only money dey are after. meanwhile, an engineer in NRC earns like a primary school teacher yet no plans of embarking on strike

doctors are spoilt brats, johesu are arrogant dolts QED

I've always known that this government is one of propaganda and lies but I never knew Nigerians were so naive swallowing their lies hook, line, sinker. I'm so glad I'm leaving this system for good. I didn't come here to argue with anyone, I just came to find out who has good travelling bags for sale so I can buy and pack my load out of this country, so please holla me if you know where I can get good travelling bags to pack my load. To my fellow Allied health professionals please stop wasting your time and data on this thread, leave them to continue to swallow propaganda, it is Johesu today, tomorrow it will be their turn. Your time can be better spent on Google searching out how you can leave their hospital for them, you are hotcake outside this country, I got a fantastic job after a 15 minute interview on Skype from my bedroom. Leave nairaland and find your way out of here, God that did it for me can do it for you.
As I was saying, who de sell travelling bag?

lightness77:
you can never be at par with the doctor, can't you just get that? It's not attainable anywhere. I think very soon Johesu will cause the privatization of the health care system, that's the road we're headed.

I believe you are smart and brilliant enough to not have a problem with comprehension. Kindly read my comment again.

dicefrost:


Very bland argument. did you notice that $80 an hour is for a specialist/consultant, while $32 may be for an entry level nurse?

a consultatant doctor earns as high as $120... An Entry-Level Registered Nurse (RN) earns an average wage of $25.99 per hour. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjQ8aqpleTaAhVGmdUKHaiuBt4YABAAGgJ3cw&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD2C45aVdqtU6YcW4SUW6ad&sig=AOD64_2xd2shw3jnoiVT_-EqBoKU_9WkyA&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjw36OpleTaAhUEKFAKHWDbDh0Q0Qx6BAgNEAE&adurl=

positivethought:
Yes it is very unrealistic for all the health workers to paid same as doctors but the government too should try to put a stop to the excesses of the doctors especially in the area of the doctors desiring n insisting on heading everything department of the health sector such as pharmacy medical lab physiotherapy radiology etc this breeds bad blood in the health sector,let the qualified experts in those fields head them while the doctors head their various medical branches simple.

Lol.

Freddonance:

To whose benefit will be the privatization

of course it will favor the medical doctors taking into consideration the current trends, it'll regulate the excesses of the various health workers associations.

sogodihno:


No one is asking to be at equal pay with doctors, but if doctors salary has been increase twice since 2014, don't u think is just fair for other health workers salary to be increase too? Don't u just get it? SMH!

young man, there was a reason for the increase, if it is not applicable to them why should theirs be increased too The issue here is they just want to be equal to the doctors nothing more.