The federal government says it will meet with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Association to avert their planned nationwide strike.
In a statement on Monday, in Abuja, Charles Akpan, deputy director, press and public relations in the ministry of labour and employment, said Chris Ngige, the minister, will meet with the leadership of the unions on Tuesday at 2 pm.
On September 3, JOHESU had issued a 15-day ultimatum to the federal government, saying it will commence an indefinite strike over outstanding welfare allowances to its members.
The union said the ultimatum was necessitated by the “nonchalant attitude” of the government to the plight of its members.
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The demand of the aggrieved members of the union include adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHES) as it was done with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) since 2014, payment of all withheld April and May 2018 salaries, withheld salaries of members in Federal Medical Center, Owerri, JUTH and LUTH, the review of the defective implementation of COVID-19 special inducement and hazard allowance, implementation of National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
The union is also demanding consent judgment and other court judgments, increase in retirement age from 60 to 65 years for health workers and 70 years for consultant health professionals.
Others are payment of reviewed hazard allowance in terms of payment that guarantee fairness and justice to all concerned, payment of actual 30 per cent consolidated basic shift duty allowance to nurses/midwives and others, payment of teaching allowance to members on CONHESS 7 and 8 (nurses, midwives and others) and proper placement of nurse graduates and interns, payment of outstanding salaries of intern health professionals and all the tertiary health institutions.
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On August 1, resident doctors embarked on a strike over the alleged failure of the federal government to implement an agreement bordering on salaries and allowances.
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