RESOLVING THE JOHESU PALAVER

The relevant authorities should dialogue with the striking workers

Members of the Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Health Care Professionals (JOHESU) last Friday commenced a seven-day warning strike, following a 15-day notice of industrial action issued to the federal government. With many of our public hospitals becoming increasingly incapacitated, it is unfortunate that a critical arm of the health sector could go on strike at this period. We hope that the federal government will intervene quickly to resolve contending issues before lives are lost like previous strikes by the union which comprises five affiliates: Medical and Health Workers Unions of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated institutions (SSAUTHRIAM), Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutes (NASU).

On 9 October, JOHESU had notified the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, that they would resume their suspended strike on October 25, if their demands were not met. There is no indication that the ministry engaged with the unions whose demands include the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS); the implementation of a consultant cadre for pharmacists in federal health institutions; the upward review in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for health workers and 70 years for consultants, and the payment of JOHESU members in professional regulatory councils. Others are the payment of arrears of CONHESS review, the tax waiver on healthcare workers’ allowances, the immediate payment of COVID-19 inducement hazard allowances to omitted health workers, and related matters.

We sympathise with health workers in the country who operate under very difficult conditions. However, what has become rather worrisome is that strikes have suddenly taken the centre stage of our national life. While refusal to work has been universally recognised as a tool available to demand a better work environment, the frequency of these strikes in virtually all sectors of the nation’s life is posing  serious threat to our socio-economic development. We therefore urge the federal government to put in place machinery to seriously address all the issues that give rise to these endless strikes, especially in critical sectors like health and education.

In a country where more than half of the population live in poverty, being able to access healthcare at the public hospitals remains critical, as many cannot afford even the consultation fees in the private hospitals. Instructively, as soon as the strike began, many of the public hospitals have had to discharge patients for their families to move them ‘elsewhere’. The elsewhere in this instance means private hospitals for those who can afford them. For others, the implications are dire. 

While we agree with the right of workers to demand enforcement of better working conditions, we disagree with the penchant for resorting to strikes at the slightest excuse. The unions have lost sympathy of citizens due to the realisation that the strikes are mostly about the ‘welfare’ of their members without a consideration for the plight of patients. Besides, some of the demands of the unions are sometimes unrealistic, like seeking pay parity with doctors, which has been a contentious issue for years. But whatever may be the issues, we hope that the federal government will dialogue with JOHESU on the urgent need to suspend the strike.