The Federal Government has rejected the request of Joint Health Sector Union’s (JOHESU) members to enjoy the same salary structure with the medical doctors.
Besides, the government maintained that there was never any existing agreement with the union prior to the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole, therefore, appealed to JOHESU to call off the strike and allow the High Level Body constituted by government to conclude its assignment as contained in the 2017 agreement.
In a statement signed by Assistant Director of Information, Ministry of Health Mr. Olajide Oshundun, the minister assured the union that the administration would not renege on any agreement entered into with any labour organisation, including JOHESU.
“What JOHESU is asking for is parity with medical doctors, which is not practicable nor acceptable to the Federal Government.
“A cursory look at the salary tables in the health sector before and after independence till date have always reflected relativity. The 2014 salary adjustment for medical doctors was to correct the anomaly of 2009 and restore relativity,” the minister stated.
On the issue of existing agreement, the statement said: “The Minister of Health wishes to reiterate that there was no agreement between the Federal Government and JOHESU prior to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“That what JOHESU brandish as 2014 agreement were minutes of meetings they had with the organs of Federal Government.
“That in September 2017, JOHESU presented 15-point demands and the Federal Government has implemented 14 while the last demand is still being attended to by the High Level Body set up by the government to look into its implementation.
“Indeed, what the September 2017 agreement stated under the upward adjustment of CONHESS salary scale and as published by JOHESU is that: ‘The meeting noted that two different figures had been submitted to the National Salaries and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on separate occasions. It was observed that the figures are no longer realistic due to lapse of time. The NSIWC should, therefore, do a fresh submission based on new data consistent with the present reality.
“The FMOH is expected to make available necessary and required data to NSIWC to enable fresh computation. The newly computed figures will be forwarded by National Salaries and Wages Commission to the Federal Ministry of Health for onward transmission for processing to the high level body of the government and thereafter to Federal Ministry of Health within five weeks.’ This has been done.”
The minister assured that the Buhari administration, as a responsible government, would do everything within its power to bring the ongoing strike action to an end as quickly as possible.
He added that “the Federal Government has put machinery in place to ensure that the strike is called off by meeting with JOHESU officials on several occasions, the last being on Wednesday April 25, 2018, at the office of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment in Abuja”
Adewole appealed to the public “to bear with the Federal Government as all hands are on the table to bring the ongoing strike to an end as quickly as possible”.
