Doctors Threaten Strike Over Nurses & Other Health Workers Demands

A Fresh crisis looms in the health sector as doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have threatened to go on a nationwide strike if the Federal Government accepts the demands of health workers represented by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU).
JOHESU (a coalition of allied health professionals/paramedics) on Monday last week began an indefinite strike over government’s refusal to allow skipping of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) 10, as well as other demands.
The NMA said the crises in the health sector would be greatly reduced if certain services were privatized through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in such a manner that manpower training is not impeded.
The association said services that could be easily privatised include: Laboratory services, pharmacy, radiography, physiotherapy, catering and laundry.
The association called for “caution in looking into the scurrilous demands of JOHESU, which, except for that on retirement age, are all frivolous.”
The doctors urged all medical/dental practitioners in public hospitals to remain at their duty posts and sustain healthcare services in government hospitals in order to mitigate the hardship caused Nigerians by “this ill-motivated” strike of JOHESU.
They called on JOHESU to have a re-think and call off its strike in the interest of professionalism, peace and progress in the country’s health sector.
In a statement jointly signed by the President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, and the Secretary-General, Dr. A. L. Pemu, yesterday, the NMA said: “It is indeed shocking and disappointing to the NMA that members of JOHESU/Allied Health Professionals are demanding to continue in acts reminiscent of stealing from government by threatening and blackmailing government to allow them jump a whole grade level in the public service. This is certainly outrageous, especially as there is no verifiable or justifiable reason to warrant that immoral concession.
“If government succumbs to this threat and blackmail by allowing the Allied Health Professionals under the aegis of an amorphous body to skip a grade level (even against the circular earlier issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation outlawing skipping in the civil service) then government must also allow skipping of grade level not just for doctors, but for the entire Federal Civil Service workforce.
“In that case, government will have to elongate the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical/dental practitioners in addition to re-introducing the Medical Salary Super Scale (MSSS)/Salary Structure for doctors. This is the only way the NMA can accept any immoral skipping of salary grade level by the Allied Health Professionals. Anything to the contrary may trigger a full-scale industrial action by medical and dental practitioners in public institutions in Nigeria. We therefore wish to bring the attention of government to this possible outcome of acceding to the illegitimate demand of JOHESU.”
On the privatisation of services in the health sector, the NMA said there had been improved quality of healthcare services, cost containment and increased revenue in hospitals where some of these services had been privatized. “We therefore advise government to give concrete expression to her Public-Private Partnership arrangement in all government hospitals, ” the association said.
The NMA said that it was not unmindful of the evil and unjustifiable plot to distract the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, and the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mohammed. A. Pate.
The NMA said in as much as the association recognized the right of any group of workers to demand improved conditions of service, it rejected and opposed any form of blackmail, deceit, injustice, discrimination and practice that was against global best practices as being championed by JOHESU.
The statement reads: “We would not allow our patients to be hurt, deceived, confused or exploited. The Allied Health Professionals/Paramedics should choose for once whether to belong to their individual unions/associations or stay with an amorphous amalgam which JOHESU represents.”
The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), which is part of JOHESU started on Tuesday last week to enforce the strike order by closing down some medical institutes in Lagos.
Nurses and midwives, pharmacists, medical technologists, senior staff of university teaching hospitals, research institutes, non-academic staff of educational institutions are involved in the strike.
The nationwide strike by medical workers began after a meeting between the JOHESU and the Health Ministry in Abuja ended without the demands of the unions being met. The unions had given the Federal Government Monday last week as their deadline for the implementation of their demands. JOHESU said the issues had been lingering for more than six years.
Some of their demands are the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and the need to revisit a 2001 report, which was submitted to the Federal Government and for which no white paper has been issued yet.
They are also asking for a conference where they want grey areas in the proposed National Health Bill sorted out, health professionals to be promoted from CONMESS 14 to 15 (which is the equivalent of Grade level 17 in the Federal Civil Service), and consultancy and specialists allowances for their members who are qualified for them and allowances for shift workers.
The unions are also asking for the boards of all teaching hospitals and tertiary health institutions to be reconstituted so that their union members will have at least eight positions on the boards.
They are against the continued appointments of only medical doctors as ministers of health as they believe that this trend could have implications for other professions in the industry.