Nigeria’s health sector to shut down by Wednesday night

The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) says it will
commence an indefinite strike by 12 midnight today
(February 17) if the Federal Government failed to meet
members’ demands.
The National President of the Medical and Health
Workers Union who also doubled as JOHESU National
Chairman, Mr Biobebelemoye Josiah, disclosed this in
an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Abuja.
Josiah explained that members are demanding for
improved working conditions, including the
implementation of skipping of Grade Level 10.
According to him, JOHESU is asking for adjustment of
the 2009 CONHESS salary table and allowances as was
done for the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in
January 2014.
He described government insensitivity to the demands
as “provocative, insulting and unjust in the worst
dimension in a democratic dispensation”.
Josiah lamented that members of the union were being
subjected to discrimination and industrial
marginalisation in the health sector in favour of NMA
members.
On the issue of skipping of Grade level 10, he noted that
rather than paying them the money government went
ahead to pay medical doctors which he claimed were
not entitle to such allowance by law.
Josiah also explained that the court ruled in their favour
that they should be paid, adding that government failed
to respect the court injunction.
However, Josiah called on the federal government to
give priority attention and capture the financial
implication of the demands in this year’s health sector
budget.
According to him, JOHESU comprised more than 99 per
cent of service deliverance in the health system, noting
that government failure to meet the demands would
have negative impact on the country’s healthcare
delivery.
“JOHESU members and doctors are treated differently,
even when it is not the right of doctors to earn specific
pay they accord them the pay which is part of the
problems we are passing through.
“This now brings disharmony because there is no fair
administration of the health system which is part of the
things that is causing disharmony and turbulence in the
system, to avoid that the President should change such
act,” he said.
NAN reports that JOHESU is an umbrella body.