NAFDAC workers won’t call off strike till their demands are met, says union chair

Workers of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) say their strike will persist until their demands are met.

Adetoboye Ayodeji, chairman of the NAFDAC branch of the Medical and Health Union Workers of Nigeria, spoke with NAN on Saturday.

He called on the agency’s management to negotiate with the union to resolve the impasse.

The workers began an indefinite strike on October 7, demanding a review of the 2024 internal promotion examinations.

Ayodeji alleged that some staff who passed were denied promotion and that the management claimed there was a shortfall in vacant positions.

“Unfortunately, the management was recruiting at the same time into the positions that they claim there was no vacancy,” he added.

“While those that are rising through the ranks are not promoted, outsiders are brought to occupy the positions.

“Only 36 percent of participants in the examinations were promoted. We therefore said no, it is never possible.

“They cannot promote less than 80 percent of the participants.

“We rejected the entire promotion exercise and asked that more staff be promoted. There can never be motivation in an agency where 36 percent of staff are only promoted.

“It will have a devastating effect on the staff morale thereby affecting the health of the 200 million Nigerians.”

Ayodeji said there are also issues of unpaid statutory arrears and other benefits to some members of staff.

He said the union signed an agreement with the government and NAFDAC management in 2022 bordering on the workers’ conditions of service which remained unimplemented.

“The issues in the agreement were supposed to be settled in December 2022 but till date, none of the agreements has been complied with,” he said.

“Allowances that are supposed to be approved on or before December 2022 have not been approved, the condition of service could not be approved.”

Ayodeji said the union had written several letters to the NAFDAC management regarding the concerns without adequate response.

Mojisola Adeyeye, the director-general of NAFDAC, had, in a statement on Monday, denied all the claims.

She said the agency had followed the rules on payment of arrears and benefits.