Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals have issued a 15-day ultimatum to the federal government, demanding the immediate implementation of their long-standing welfare issues. Failure to meet their demands within the stipulated period, they warned, would lead to a nationwide strike.
JOHESU comprises key health sector unions, including the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, and the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutions, and Associated Institutions. Also involved is the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.
The ultimatum was delivered through a memo jointly signed by JOHESU’s national president, Kabir Minjibir, and the union’s secretary, Martin Engbanubi, and addressed to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate.
“This 15-day ultimatum is necessitated by the non-response of the federal government to the plight of our members, despite our benevolence,” Minjibir declared in the memo issued on Thursday in Abuja.
Minjibir stressed that if the government fails to resolve the pending welfare issues within the given timeframe, JOHESU would embark on industrial action. He added that the strike would commence nationwide at midnight on Friday, October 25.
“All our members in federal health institutions shall embark on a seven-day strike action,” Minjibir stated. “Sir, you will agree with us that JOHESU has always exhibited maturity, selflessness, and patriotism.
This is even in the face of extreme provocations and the government’s long delay in meeting the demands of workers under JOHESU, and we think that our maturity and patriotism have been taken for granted.”
The union president recalled that the same unresolved issues had previously triggered a nationwide strike from May 19 to June 6, 2023, which was suspended following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.
Among the union’s demands are the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) to match the adjustment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), which had been implemented since January 2014.
Other key demands include the creation of a consultant cadre for pharmacists in federal health institutions, an upward review of the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for health workers, and 70 years for consultants.
The union is also calling for the payment of arrears from the CONHESS review, a tax waiver on allowances for healthcare workers, and the settlement of unpaid COVID-19 inducement hazard allowances for excluded health workers.
In addition, JOHESU demanded the immediate suspension of activities related to the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency and the withdrawal of the Drug Revolving Fund Standard Operating Procedures.
“We also demand the immediate implementation of the CONHESS adjustment and the immediate payment of 25 percent of CONHESS review arrears,” Minjibir emphasized.
He further called for the payment of nine months of outstanding salaries owed to staff of regulatory agencies, along with the restoration of funding to the Environmental Health Regulatory Council.
