#JOHESUStrike2018: JOHESU Press Briefing on NEC Meeting Held on Thursday May 17, 2018


Posted on: Fri 18-05-2018

TEXT OF A PRESS BRIEFING BY JOHESU HELD ON THURSDAY MAY 17, 2018 AT AYUBA WABBA HOUSE, AREA ONE ABUJA
 
It has become necessary to reach out to the Federal Government, consumers of health and all stakeholders with regards to the on-going nationwide strike of health workers.
 
We wish to put on record that after attending a series of meetings with the Federal Government team under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, with the following Ministries/Agencies in attendance; Federal Ministry of Health, Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Finance, DSS and others on:
i. Wednesday, 25th April, 2018
ii. Monday,  30th April, 2018
iii. Thursday, 3rd May, 2018
iv. Wednesday 9th May, 2018
v. Tuesday 15th May, 2018
vi. Wednesday 16th May, 2018
 
It has become imperative to summarise our observation as follows:
 
1. The Federal Ministry of  Health as presently led by Prof. Isaac Adewole FAS has constituted itself as a major hindrance to fruitful deliberation as he has never disguised its intention to symbolise the propaganda machine of the NMA through his posturing at all our meetings, which necessitated JOHESU to take a position that the negotiation were structured to fail ab-initio.
 
Prof. Isaac Adewole is on record to have insisted that the wage structure in the health sector must reckon with what was obtainable in the 1991 late Prof. Olukoye Ransome – Kuti’s dual salary system (MSS and HSS) which marked the beginning of persistent acrimony until it was corrected through the Harmonised Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (HATISS) and HAPSS in 2003.
 
2. The duo of the Ministers of Labour and Health who are both members of the NMA have taken a position that parity must entail a basic salary differential in the emolument of health professionals and their doctor colleagues.
 
On May 15, 2018, JOHESU came up with a comprehensive presentation to graphically showcase the realities of the various salary scales in the Health Sector from 1977 till date (please see appendix).  Even when the reality on ground shows that a fresh doctor presently enters the public service on CONMESS 3 which is the equivalent of GL 13 with a take home monthly package of N313,000,00 per month, the closest in line who are health professionals enter public service on CONHESS 9 which is the equivalent of GL 10 with a package of N161,670.00 with a proposal to have an adjustment that takes him to a total emolument of N190,000.00, the two Ministers who are members of NMA have taken positions that these health professionals seek parity with doctors.  In mathematical terms this is a significant 61% differential.
 
At same CONMESS 3 which is an equivalent of CONHESS 11, in our adjusted CONHESS, a Medical Doctor on CONMESS 3 will earn N312,944.83 while other health professionals will earn N223,345.58.  this is a difference of N89,599.22 which in mathematical terms translate into 40% differential.
 
At peak levels on CONMESS 7, a consultant doctor takes home at least One Million naira, while other health professionals at the same peak level of CONHESS 15 are presently on N477,165 and seek for proposed adjustment which will take them to N697,000.  This still gives a 43% differential.
 
The above reflection is what obtains when health professionals on the peak of JOHESU ladder is compared to doctors.  For administrators and graduate nurses who start on CONHESS 7 (GL 8), their present earnings are a meagre monthly entitlements of N89,000 and N118,000.
 
For effect it will take any other average health professional or administrator a minimum of 15 year.
 
As copied.