Posted on: Mon 22-08-2022

The Joint Health Sector Unions and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations have commended the Federal Government for paying the withheld salaries of their members.

The government had withheld the April and May 2018 salaries of JOHESU and AHPA members after the health workers embarked on a strike.

The acting National Secretary of JOHESU, Mathew Ajurotu, in a statement on Sunday, said some of its members in FMC, Owerri, JUTH and LUTH were yet to receive their April and May 2018 salaries.

The statement was titled, ‘Update on the demand for adjustment of CONHESS as done for CONMESS and other demands of JOHESU/AHPA.’

“We find it very necessary to put on record our deep appreciation of efforts to get JOHESU/AHPA members paid their long withheld April and May, 2018 salaries due to high wire schemes and intrigues of our sector which played out at high levels and compelled the avoidable and unnecessary seizures of the salaries of our members.

“It is also very important to thank the Presidency for ensuring that some significant sums of money were budgeted to cater for special personnel wages in all sectors including Health,” Ajurotu said.

The unions urged the government to speedily implement their demands in order to avoid health workers’ strike which had been suspended.

“It is necessary to inform all stakeholders that various consultative meetings of the JOHESU/AHPA leadership and NEC are slated from the week of August 20 and September 7, 2022. One of the critical items on the agenda remains progress report on the suspended JOHESU strike which was an effort demonstrated to show respect to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“In other that things don’t degenerate from the strategic junctures of the personal intervention of President Buhari, we respectfully call on the Presidency to immediately prevail on the Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, in particular, to resolve all contending issues promptly,” the statement added.

The unions’ demands, according to the statement include, “Adjustment of CONHESS as was done for CONMESS; payment of reviewed hazard allowances and other welfare packages as well as the implementation of Consultant Cadre for Pharmacists in the public service.

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