JOHESU Issues Ultimatum to FG, Threatens Strike Over Unpaid COVID-19 Allowances
Thompson Nsisongabasi
Oct 11, 2024
Joint Health Unions (JOHESU )Set to Strike Over Owed COVID-19 Allowances, Tax Waivers
Members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) will start a seven-day warning strike on October 25 if the federal government fails to honour their demands.
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On Thursday, JOHESU issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government to resolve the pending welfare issue of health workers.
According to The Punch, the joint health unions are demanding the unpaid COVID-19 hazard allowances to omitted workers and a tax waiver on healthcare workers' allowances.
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JOHESU also wants the federal government to adjust the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), pay the 25% CONHESS review arrears and nine months (January-September 2024) salary to staff of Regulatory Agencies, restore funding to Environmental Health Regulatory Council and reconstitute the Boards/Governing Councils of Federal Health Institutions (FHIs).
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The demands also include the commencement of the process to upwardly review the retirement age of health workers, the implementation of a consultant cadre for pharmacists in FHIs and payment of JOHESU members in professional regulatory councils.
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They want the immediate suspension of the planned establishment and activities of the National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA), withdrawal of the Drug Revolving Fund Standard Operating Procedures (DRF SOP), and the implementation of approved entry point, call duty and other allowances for Doctor of Pharmacy holders.
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JOHESU comprises five groups: the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) and the Senior Staff Association of University Teaching Hospitals Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI).
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This is not the first time JOHESU will be issuing an ultimatum for a strike action. In May 2023, it gave a 15-day timeframe for the FG to honour these same demands. Members of the union subsequently embarked on an indefinite strike but called it off in June 2023 after President Bola Tinubu promised to address their concerns.
However, these health workers are now threatening industrial action over the same demands 16 months after their previous strike.
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— Thompson Nsisongabasi