Medical workers may begin strike Thursday

FROM Thursday, all the federal medical facilities in the country may be shut down as crisis between the workers and Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu may take a new turn. The health workers, under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA), have continuously called on President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve the Minister of the burden of administering health matters in the country, saying the university don has demonstrated the lowest level of inefficiency ever seen in Nigeria’s history of health delivery.

Indeed, The Guardian learnt that their exclusion from boards might be seen by the unionists as a slight on them and in equal measure, they have resolved to use the strike action to force President Jonathan to remove Prof. Chukwu from office.

A document obtained by The Guardian and signed by the chairperson of JOHESU, Wabba Ayuba; secretary, W.G. Yusuf-Bamus; chairperson of AHPA, Godswill Okara, was unequivocal, saying, “we reiterate our call on Mr. President to relieve Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu of his appointment as the Minister of Health as he has failed in all ramifications to bring about industrial peace and harmony in the health ministry.”

Before now, most presidents and general secretaries of unions in the health profession got nominated into the boards of federal medical institutions.

Investigations by The Guardian at the weekend indicated that no union leader has so far been nominated into the recently announced board members.

Indeed, the Chief Medical Director of Bida Federal Medical Centre had to call a union member last week to help trace a board member that was supposedly nominated to represent the interests of unions. As it turned out, this ‘member’ was unknown to the union she was supposed to be representing.

The Guardian also gathered that but for a meeting that was called at the instance of House of Representatives Committee on Health, which has been fixed for Thursday, the strike action would have been declared earlier than the Thursday date.

A source said in Abuja at the weekend: “It is unthinkable that a minister of health will put together lists of board members for federal medical institutions and no member is appointed from the union. How then would the interests of workers be protected? We in the movement know that the minister did this to spite us. But that will only strengthen our resolve to demand his removal. Out of all the issues in dispute, not one has been resolved. We had attended a meeting at the instance of Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka Wogu, at which we agreed on a number of issues but weeks after that meeting, nothing concrete has been achieved. The minister did nothing to address all the issues at stake.”

The unions had on March 13, 2013, issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health to implement the May 10, 2012 collective agreement but had to shelve going on industrial action after the Minister of Labour and Productivity intervened.

Afterwards, at a meeting at the instance of Wogu, a memorandum of understanding was reached between the warring parties. The memorandum provided a six-week timeframe effective March 21, 2013 within which all outstanding issues in dispute would be addressed.

The issues in dispute are: implementation of the Justice Bello Abdullahi Presidential Committee report on harmony in the health sector; promotion of health professionals from CONHESS 14 to 15 in line with their respective schemes of service; implementation of the 2008 Job Evaluation Committee report; review of retirement age of healthcare professionals in teaching and research institutes to be at par with their counterparts in the university system; re-composition of the boards of management of tertiary health institutions to ensure equitable representation of health professional associations and registered trade unions