The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Ondo State Council has directed members in all government-owned health facilities across the 18 council areas of the state to embark on an indefinite strike from midnight of January 31.
While disclosing yesterday that the industrial action became imperative due to the state government’s alleged refusal to heed their demands, the association lamented that due to the shortage of health workers, other roles were being undertaken by its members to fill the gaps.
State Chairman of NANNM, Felix Orobode, and the Public Relations Officer, Luck Aremu, in a statement, claimed that the state government has since 2023 been turning a blind eye to all their requests.
They maintained that nurses could no longer endure the financial and professional neglect that had characterised their relationship with the government. Orobode, who alleged that the requests of other personnel within the health sector were approved, stated that the troubling scenario had fuelled the movement of nurses and midwives from the state.
Some of their requests include payment of the balance of January 2025 salary as agreed, with the 100 per cent new salary table, correction of the 2022 conversion exercise where their members were “indirectly demoted and lateral (point-to-point) conversion in subsequent conversion exercises, as well as payment of the arrears of promotion and hazard allowances and resumption of negotiation on uniform allowance for nurses as captured in the public service rule.”
The body added: “Based on the unhealthy development, an emergency SEC meeting was summoned for today, Thursday, 30th January 2025. After reviewing our activities so far, the SEC concluded that the government has been taking us for a ride and therefore resolved to direct all the nurses and midwives under the employment of Ondo State to withdraw their services indefinitely with effect from midnight of Friday, 31st January 2025.”
IN a similar vein, the leadership of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association (MDCAN), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State chapter, yesterday, said its members would begin industrial action next week Monday, as directed by the South West zone of the association.
The strike notice followed the 21-day ultimatum given to vice-chancellors of universities in the zone for placement of clinical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) as obtained in all medical colleges in Nigerian universities.
The association, which made specific reference to an unfortunate situation at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), demanded the immediate commencement of the CONMESS salary structure for clinical lecturers. Giving details of the compliance of OAU clinical lecturers to the strike .
OAU MDCAN Chairman, Dr Olufemi Ogundipe, and the General Secretary, Dr Tajudeen Adetunji, in a statement yesterday, said academic activities at the College of Health Sciences in the university, involving all clinical lecturers, would be shut down.
They maintained that the union could no longer tolerate huge disparity in emoluments and several years of income loss due to non-implementation of CONMESS in OAU, vowing to resist the injustice.
The statement reads: “We are demanding immediate payment of CONMESS to all clinical lecturers in OAU to save the future of medical education in the foremost citadel of learning.”
However, “the fate of final year dental students of OAU now hangs in the balance,” according to a source, who pleaded anonymity. One of the clinical lecturers at the university, who preferred anonymity to avoid victimisation, said: “The Dental final year examination commences on Monday, and will be badly affected by the strike if urgent measures are not taken to avert it.
“Other professional exams scheduled to be held in February may also be in jeopardy. Our resolve as an association is to go ahead with the strike. And with that position, the effect on students’ examinations and other academic activities exercise is better imagined than experienced.”
While appealing to the management to avert the strike, MDCAN bemoaned the dearth of clinical lecturers and dwindling fortunes of medical education in the country and blamed the development on the nonchalant attitude of the authorities to the challenges ravaging the nation’s health sector.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of OAU, Abiodun Olanrewaju, said he would find out from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simeon Bamire. He remarked: “In the first instance, the VC is not around. It is a thing I will find out from the Vice Chancellor himself, and I know the appropriate organ of the university must have been put on notice concerning this.
“Our VC is people-friendly, and prioritises the welfare of staff and students, and I don’t think the VC will deliberately not want to implement CONMESS. Let’s see how the event unfolds because we will not deliberately do financial injustice to those who are due for it.”
