INTERVIEW: Striking Health Workers are impatient- Health Minister

Health workers in teaching and federal
hospitals in Nigeria have embarked on an
indefinite strike. The workers complain of
being marginalized by medical doctors,
non-implementation of court ruling by the
health ministry, among other issues.
In this interview, the Minister if Health,
Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu sheds more
light on the controversial issues and
proffers solutions.
Mr. Chukwu said there are three
alternatives for striking health workers to
choose from.
PT: What is the latest in your ministry?
MIN: The latest in the Nigerian health
sector is that today some of the health
workers are on strike.
PT: Who are these workers?
MIN: These are workers under the Joint
Health Sector Union (JOHESU). This is a
group of about five trade unions that
operate in the health sector which
includes the Medical and Health Workers
Union of Nigeria, Senior Staff Association
of Universities and Tertiary Health
institutions. It also includes the nurses
under the National Association of Nigerian
Nurses and Midwives, Medical and
Laboratory Scientists Association of
Nigeria; and National Union of Allied
Professionals. Basically, this is a
grouping of health workers but excluding
medical doctors and to large extent
pharmacists. But I think, generally, all the
other health workers belong to one or
other of these groups operating under the
umbrella of JOHESU. They have been on
strike but we also know that since last
week in two hospitals namely University
College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan and the
National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi,
Lagos, NUAP has been on a more
localised strike.
PT: What attempts have been made to
manage the situation?
MIN: But for the JOHESU, series of
meetings have been held with that group
and the ministry of labour and
productivity. The meeting that was
scheduled for yesterday (Wednesday)
though their leader was able to make it
but they couldn’t form a forum as the
other members had left and gone back to
their bases so we only had informal talks.
I was there and the minister of labour and
productivity, the two permanent
secretaries of the two ministries, were
also there alongside relevant directors. As
it were, certainly, they’ve embarked on
strike, and the reports reaching us is that
the strike is at various levels as in some
institutions, it’s as if nobody is on strike,
but in some health institutions, the
workers beside medical doctors and
pharmacists are on strike. We are
compiling the full report, hospital by
hospital, establishment by establishment,
to be sure who is on strike and who is
not.
PT: So, what is the issue at stake?
MIN: You may recall that as part of the
ongoing conversation with labour in the
health sector, four issues that we couldn’t
quite agree on how to move forward
include the issue of skipping.
PT: What is skipping?
MIN: This entails people who should be
promoted to the level of a principal but
don’t want to be on CONHESS 10 which is
the equivalence of grade level 12
according to the national wages and
salaries commission but would rather
want to be promoted straight to
CONHESS 11 which is the equivalence of
grade level 13. That is what is called
skipping. So your promotion should be
from, according to them, CONHESS nine
straight to 11.
The second issue has to do with some of
the provisions in the National Health Bill
which is before the National Assembly.
There are some of the areas they say they
didn’t agree with and we felt that there is
nothing we could do at this stage as the
matter is before the National Assembly.
The third issue was the appointments of
consultants. They also wanted other
health professionals besides medical
doctors appointed consultants in public
hospitals. Though not in any scheme of
service, they wanted that to happen.