Posted on: Thu 05-02-2015

Your Excellency, we wish to commend you for granting audience to us at this crucial time.

-Your Excellency’s transformation agenda on health has brought tremendous improvement in the Health Sector in the reflected areas:

• Polio Eradication
• Control of Ebola Virus Disease in the Country.
• The Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) that has reduced the maternal and child  mortality.
• Approval of CONHESS Salary in 2010 to the nation and payment of arrears which drastically reduced the exodus of medical personnel in the nation.
• The National Health Act - signed into law by Your Excellency, to strengthen Primary Healthcare and the Universal Health Coverage.

In view of these achievements, members of JOHESU/AHPA have been committed and passionate to ensuring that the health system of Your Excellency’s dream is made a reality. A practical demonstration of this is why we restrained ourselves in using the strike option to resolve matters for almost one year when we were in the process of dialogue with the Federal Government.

Reasons for the current strike in the Health Sector:

• Refusal of government to honour and implement collective bargaining agreements since 2009 to date.
• Refusal to obey and implement the NICN judgments of 22nd July, 2013.
• Non issuance and release of circular on adjustment of salary for JOHESU members who are on CONHESS in line with the agreement signed in march 2014.
• Non issuance and release of harmonized scheme of service for nurses and midwives in line with the 1981 IAP award and the 1991 as well as 2012 NICN judgments.
• Non payment of specialist allowance to other health professionals as agreed in the collective bargaining agreement of December, 2009.
• The refusal of the Federal Ministry of Health to continue the appointment of qualified health professionals as Consultants in line with NICN judgment of 22nd July, 2013.

 

-Non promotion of other health professionals as Directors in line with the approved Federal Schemes of Service.

-Non payment of arrears of CONHESS 10 skipping since 2010

-Increasing the retirement age of health workers from 60 to 65 years and

-Deficiencies of the Teaching Hospital Act which include:

(a)Redressing the lopsidedness in the Management Board Composition to ensure that other health professionals are equitably represented on the boards of management

(b)Restructuring the appointment of Chief Medical Directors/Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (C-MAC) which is presently exclusive to only Medical practitioners contrary to the law such that other qualified persons with a pedigree in management and administration can be appointed.

(c)Abolishing the illegal creation of the post of Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (D-CMAC) which is not provided for in the University Teaching Hospital Act.

CONCLUSION:

Your Excellency, we appreciate that various perception of the situation in the Health Sector pervades the landscape. We reiterate that JOHESU/AHPA is not interested in a popularity contest with any stakeholder. In reality we do not wish to take from anybody while others cannot also continue to poach from our commonwealth.

In tandem with your rule of law mantra which has fundamental objectives including fairness equity and justice we continue to appeal that government should reckon with the reality that JOHESU/AHPA accounts for over 95% of the health work force in Nigeria.

This transcends to over 1,000,000 health workers at Federal, 36 States and the FCT as well as the 774 Local Government Areas. For records purposes it is only our members who have this strength.

The season is peculiar and we thank Your Excellency for earnestly granting us audience despite your very busy schedule. We therefore solicit your kind approval in granting our reasonable and responsible requests.

If Your Excellency approves these demands, it has the tendency to put the Nigerian health sector on a higher pedestal for the benefit of consumers of health and stem the tide of medical tourism.

We assure Your Excellency that the over 1,000,000 health workers in Nigeria and their many dependants will continue to remember President Jonathan as the courageous leader who broke the shackles of slavery imposed on a significant block of Nigeria citizens even when the 1999 constitution prescribes an EQUALISATION PHILOSOPHY.

On a professional dimension, Your Excellency our strong clamour for consultancy status and improved welfare conditions are hinged on the increasing complexity of healthcare endeavours which dictates specialist status must evolve in the Health Sector in the bid to entrench competence and productivity at a time our country needs to stem the tide of medical tourism. These clamours are totally in tandem with global best practices.

The totality of our struggle therefore can only be in the ultimate professional and public interest.

Finally, Your Excellency, we request that the much awaited approval of Mr. President for the Salary adjustment for health professional workers nationwide be factored into the 2015 budget.

As at December 22, we were reliably informed that all that was left was to secure a Presidential approval prior to the issuance of the enabling circular.

Your Excellency, we crave your indulgence that you give necessary directives to energise the process towards appointing Consultants in the various health professions by the Federal Ministry of Health. In similar spirit we appeal that all other relevant circulars on all issues that led to this unfortunate strike be released immediately.

We wish Your Excellency the very best in your aspirations in the days ahead.

Thank you.

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