Members of the Joint Health Workers’ Union (JOHESU) and Assembly of Healthcare Professionals (AHPA) have suspended their indefinite strike after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Lafiya360 gathered that the meeting was held at the Presidential Villa at about 1:30 pm.
According to Dr. Obinna Ogbonna, the National Vice Chairman of JOHESU, the unions decided to suspend the strike and give a 21-day timeline to the government to act on its demands, due to the pleas and assurances of President Tinubu.
He said, “We had the expanded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting today. With the level of engagement from the government side, coupled with some of the indicators we have seen so far, we brought the matter to the Congress.
“We visited the Villa to see Mr President who gave assurances that he is going to look into our issues with the mindset of resolving them.
“He stated that the health sector is an important sector that we should not just gloss over, and that he has come to reignite confidence and trust, and that we should take him by his words that he is going to look positively into our issues. He told us to go and tell the Congress that he said so.
“With all our assessments, and with Mr. President’s pleas, the Congress have decided to give a 21-day timeline to the government to activate and release some of the circulars, and implement some of our demands.
“The Congress, therefore, decided that the strike should be suspended with effect from tomorrow (Tuesday) when the Congresses in other branches will be called. It is, however, officially suspended today.”
The JOHESU and AHPA, which comprise healthcare workers, excluding medical doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives, complained about the unfair treatment and discrimination of its members by the Federal Ministry of Health, with regards to their welfare, including wages and benefit packages, among others.
Their demands includes the immediate approval and implementation of the Technical Committee report on Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) adjustment by the Federal Government; payment and inculcation of peculiar allowances to health workers under the aegis of JOHESU/AHPA; immediate payment of the omission and Shortfall in the COVID-19 hazard/inducement allowances of affected health workers in the Federal Health Institutions and recognition of health workers in non-core hospital facilities in the payment of new hazard allowance.
Others are: the immediate and unconditional implementation of the Pharmacist Consultant cadre, unconditional payment of all withheld salaries of Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Jos University Teaching Hospital, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and April and May, 2018 salaries of members at NOFIC, Azare; and the speedy implementation of the increase in retirement age from 60 to 65 years, and 70 years for Consultants in the health professions.