Health Workers under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Union have vowed to continue the nationwide strike which began in all federal hospitals on Monday until their demands are met. Acting National Chairman JOHESU, Felix Faniran, who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said the union was not happy with the non-skipping of health workers on CONHESS 10, non-payment of consultancy and specialist allowance and call/shift and other professional allowances.
He said, "We went on strike in May and the Presidency pleaded and after a meeting promised to attend to six out of the 10 demands and directed that four be sent to the technical committee. But by the 15th of July, nothing was done. When we got tired of the Ministry of Health, we decide to take it to the Industrial Court.
"But to our dismay, the Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu issued a circular against skipping, saying the status quo must remain.We will not call off this strike untill the circular is withdrawn and our July agreement met."
The striking unions are the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives; Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions; Nigeria Union of Pharmacist, Medical Technologists and Professions Allied to Medicine and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions. correspondent, who visited the Lagos Universty Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, and the National Orthopaedic Hospital,Igbobi, observed that only doctors were attending to patients.
A patient, who simply gave her name as Sewa at the A ward in LUTH, said no nurse had come to check on them since Monday evening. She said only her doctor had given her the required injections but she was unable to get her daily dose of drugs because the nurses were on strike.
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