Health workers under the aegis of the Joint Health Staff Unions (JOHESU) this evening declared an indefinite nationwide strike.

Nurses and midwives, pharmacists, medical technologists, senior staff of university teaching hospitals, research institutes, non-academic staff of educational institutions will be involved in the strike action.

This follows a meeting between the Joint Health Workers Union and the health ministry in Abuja which has just ended without the demands of the unions been met. The unions had given the Federal Government today as their deadline for the implementation of their demands. However, JOHESU said the issues have been lingering for more than 6 years.

Some of their demands are the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and the need to revisit a 2001 report which was submitted to the federal government and for which no White Paper has been issued yet.

They are also asking for a conference where they want grey areas in the proposed National Health Bill sorted out, health professionals to be promoted from CONMESS 14 to 15 (which is the equivalent of Grade level 17 in the Federal Civil Service), consultancy and specialists allowances for their members who have qualified for them and allowances for shift workers.

The unions are also asking for the boards of all teaching hospitals and tertiary health institutions to be reconstituted so that their union members will have at least 8 positions on the boards.

The unions also said they are against the continued appointments of only medical doctors as ministers of health as they believed it could have implications for other professions in the industry.

This comes as the Lagos State government this afternoon sacked over 1,000 doctors in its employ who had been on strike since April 24, 2012.

The doctors have been pressing for a downward review of taxes, the full implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and other demands.

Confirming the development, the secretary of the Medical Guild, Idris Durojaiye, said the information was passed across to the doctors through the medical directors of the various state hospitals.

"The medical directors signed the letters," he said

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161688:health-workers-embark-on-national-strike-as-lagos-sacks-striking-doctor&catid=1:news&Itemid=2

let see if they'll sack them all

Bad news der!nt a gud 1..

sick country

No offense, but the very idea of this sounds foolish.

Government should go and employ doctors from Cuba and Eastern Europe. These areas produce some very good doctors.

Has some traits of inferiority complex, doctors are the shinning stars of the health institution so let em be.

Is a pity d way govt do handle some profession wit levity.wit d kind of money politicians receive and stil yet ,i cant even see der relevance in d system .and for dem to meet d Doctors demand ,d next was to sack dem.among d doctors and legislative arm of govt.who is vital most to nigeria as a whole?

when countries like Canada are busy luring our doctors, someone is busy sacking them

Like Fashola did, Jonathan should sak all of them!!

He would replace them all in under two months. Its high time we show them who is boss.

One after d oda...... This is not a way 2 help or discourage BH.

I think jonathan shud sack all these fo0lish quack health workers... They are becoming nuisance to to dis nation.. Sack them all and employ health workers from somalia,iraq and yemen

interesting

including the new doctors?

They do this to the health sector because govt dont feel their impact, they all run abroad for treatment. It's the poor masses that knows the impact of this sector. They answer judiciary fast because that one affects them directly. Na wa o.

including the new doctors? 8

Politicians should earn like civil servants then all these nonsense and unpatriotic demands would have no premise.

There should be a marshal plan in place to curtail the excesses of the labour union,mainly the Medical union and ASUU. If not, one day,they may decide to threaten everybody with suffocation unless their self-serving demands are met. How many times has the medical union gone on strike over the poor equipment of our teaching hospitals if not to ask that one of them be made Minister of health or that more sub-headings be added to their list of allowances. Likewise ASUU. Politics is there for any of them who wants to join. Govt. should be able to make their pay attractive enough so that those who decide to embark on strike on flimsy excuses could be replaced with foreigners who're willing to work.

This isn't good. Our leaders shd resolve these issues fast &amicably. So many women r in labour as we speak!

Even when they were not on strike, You wait for hours in the hospital before they can respond to you. They do their works as if nobody can question them, most of them don't report to duty instead they go for part time jobs. I had once being frustrated, left the hospital and taken Self Medication when i was in the hospital for 3hrs without any doctor, when one came. He was in the office for 45minutes when patients were under pains waiting. The government should clean the health sector for incompetence and lack of dedication to duty.
Let all the security agents, engineers, ASUU, Pegassan,bankers, NEPA, NURTW,lawyers and government too go on strike. Every profession is useful in the society, no one profession should carry itself more than every body

One good news about been a medical doctor is, you have alot of job offers. Fashola can sack them all, but they will get a new job within a week. It feel so good to be a medical doctor

whats with this article because i'm seeing this evening when it was posted this morning, and my Mum is working at the hospital this moment.so which strike is this?

diluminati: whats with this article because i'm seeing this evening when it was posted this morning, and my Mum is working at the hospital this moment.so which strike is this?

Health workers not Native doctors apprentice... Those ones have good pay and benefits...

@Otox, the health workers demand is not based on any trait of Inferiority complex.No particular professional is superior than the other because they work inter dependently to see to good patient management. It is only in Naija that the ill informed masses like yourself see the Medical Doctors as superior to other health care professionals like Radiographers(Imaging diagnosis) Pharmacists(Drug andministering) Medical Laboratory(Fluid diagnosis) Nurses(Patients Care)Physiotherapist(Patient Rehabilitation)Doctors(Treatment) and other ranges of professional with their duties which vis a vis complement each other.

HMMMM keep on taking side instead of calling on Government to rise up to his responsibility. This is just the beginning, beside the last time I checked the poor masses suffer more whenever there is strike and not the government. May be all the health workers should be sacked!

Alusi Okija:

Health workers not Native doctors apprentice... Those ones have good pay and benefits...

Haaahahaa, what kind of a person are you?Native doctors apprentice?

these doctors and health workers seem to enjoy blackmailing the government into paying them more money.besides the news of fashola sacking 778 doctors wasnt complete,he employed 367 immediately and the recruitment process is still on.employees cant keep blackmailing the employer forever.they are free to go and work for FG

Alusi Okija:

Health workers not Native doctors apprentice... Those ones have good pay and benefits...

i dont understand you

It is very silly calling for the sack of the health workers just for asking for their rights. The consolidated salary has been implemented for other workers what stops the govt doing same for them.

dorothy111: One good news about been a medical doctor is, you have alot of job offers. Fashola can sack them all, but they will get a new job within a week. It feel so good to be a medical doctor

yesss they get a new offer within a week but at the detriment of receiving lower wages cos must of them i know take up part time jobs just to keep fit.

i would rather agree with the post below and wish that they improve on their lackadaisical and epileptic services rather than complain and making us feel like they are at the end of the food chain.

brainpulse: Even when they were not on strike, You wait for hours in the hospital before they can respond to you. They do their works as if nobody can question them, most of them don't report to duty instead they go for part time jobs. I had once being frustrated, left the hospital and taken Self Medication when i was in the hospital for 3hrs without any doctor, when one came. He was in the office for 45minutes when patients were under pains waiting. The government should clean the health sector for incompetence and lack of dedication to duty.
Let all the security agents, engineers, ASUU, Pegassan,bankers, NEPA, NURTW,lawyers and government too go on strike. Every profession is useful in the society, no one profession should carry itself more than every body

Alusi Okija: Like Fashola did, Jonathan should sak all of them!!

He would replace them all in under two months. Its high time we show them who is boss.

Is it really about sacking them. What you don't understand is that for a health worker to give you his/her best she/he needs to be motivated and have a good attitude to work. Either way whether strike or no strike the masses still suffer because I can tell you that many Drs due to low incentives with respect to the demands of the profession hardly give you their best when you walk into their office. An example of this is this post below:

brainpulse: Even when they were not on strike, You wait for hours in the hospital before they can respond to you. They do their works as if nobody can question them, most of them don't report to duty instead they go for part time jobs. I had once being frustrated, left the hospital and taken Self Medication when i was in the hospital for 3hrs without any doctor, when one came. He was in the office for 45minutes when patients were under pains waiting. The government should clean the health sector for incompetence and lack of dedication to duty.
Let all the security agents, engineers, ASUU, Pegassan,bankers, NEPA, NURTW,lawyers and government too go on strike. Every profession is useful in the society, no one profession should carry itself more than every body

BTW Dr have consistently had a lower life expectancy than the general population which goes to show how much their life go into the profession.

The only solution..............THATCHER SYTLE..............REMOVE OR KILL THE POWERS ALL THIS WORKERS AND UNION......Just legislate and pass a law on it. NOT HARD