Joint health workers begin seven-day warning strike today

• Sacking of resident doctors hypocritical, illegal, says Adegboruwa
• We ’re not disturbed by govt’s threat, action continues, says NARD

The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has directed medical and health workers to commence a seven-day warning strike from today.

In a statement by Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives and Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professions which was made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday, the health workers expressed displeasure that after 92 days ultimatum issued the Federal Government, they were yet to reach an agreement.

The union lamented that despite series of meetings with committees and sub-committees to look into the various issues presented by JOHESU, the Federal Government insisted there was no agreement to review the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).

It said: “It was observed that despite the series of meetings earlier held with committees and sub-committees set up to look into the various issues presented by JOHESU and agreements reached, to our utmost surprise, the Federal Government asserted that there was no agreement.”

They also bemoaned that other issues upon which previous submissions had been made were equally pushed to the unions to make fresh submission showing lack of seriousness on the part of the government.

In another development, a Lagos human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, yesterday described the directive by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, that all doctors in government hospitals should be sacked, as unfortunate.

In a statement, Adegboruwa said: “The directive, coming at a time when the government could not pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and other workers, and intimidating them through the termination of their employment is illegal.”

While urging the good people of Nigeria to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the minister to order to reinstate the doctors, he said in employment matters where same enjoys statutory flavour, the employer cannot determine the employment at will.

According to him, the doctors are not employed at the pleasure of the minister or government. Their employments are protected by statute.

“Furthermore, no notice was issued to the doctors, no queries were issued and no disciplinary procedure was initiated.

“What that means is that the minister cannot sack doctors through the media as if he was a military man operating in a junta. This is only an indication of the body language of dictatorship that other members of the Buhari regime are copying from the President”, he noted.

Meanwhile, President, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Muhammed Askira, has said the resident doctors remained undisturbed by the Federal Government’s directive for all of them to be sacked and replaced in all federal health institutions.

Askira, who spoke with The Guardian on phone, said there had been lingering issues between the association and government which were yet to be addressed, adding that it is only an insensitive government that would sack it workers without engaging them to resolve the issues.

He said: “There have been lingering issues between the association and the government but the government has been irresponsive to their responsibility and it is only an insensitive government that would not listen to the demands of its workers and kick them out.

“There are still ongoing talks between the leadership of the association and the National Assembly but till then, the nationwide strike continues and we are not disturbed at all by the Federal Government directive.”