RE: STRIKE ACTION BY A GROUP OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS KNOWN AS NATIONAL UNION OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (NUAHP)

Our attention has been drawn to the letter written by the director of department of hospital services FMOH Dr. P.A Osinubi dated 6th November, 2014 on the above subject matter and directed to all chief medical directors and medical directors of all tertiary hospitals in nigeria. Our response to the letter is stated below:

 

THE WRITER OF THE LETTER:

The issue at stake is purely an industrial/ labour matter which ought to be handled by the human resources department of the ministry rather than the department of hospital services. We therefore see the writer as usuring the functions and powers of the department of human resources which should not be.

 

Furthermore, Dr P A Osunibi is a medical practitioner and a member of the Nigerian medical association. we will like to know whether she wrote a similar letter when the Nigeria Medical Association a nd Medical and dental consultants association of Nigeria members were on strike between july and august 2014 despite the fact that these two bodies are not registered trade unions? Does this action not amount to discrimination, victimization and double standard?

 

If the NMA was not treated the same way, we demand that this action should not be applied to our union members in the interest of social justice and industrial peace. Should such a letter be necessary at all, it should have emanated from the office of the director of human resources or permanent secretary of the honourable minister of health. it appears to us that the writer merely wrote in her personal capacity and not directed to do so by the honourable minister of health.

 

ERROR IN THE TITLE

We wish to point out that the name of our union is not National unon of allied health professionals but Nigerian union of allied health professionals (NUAHP), This should be noted for subsequent correspondences.

 

The name was approved as such by the registrar of trade unions and immediate past honorable minister of labor and productivity nearly two years ago and has since been in operation. It replaced the former name Nigerian union of pharmacists medical technologists and professionals allied to medicine (NUPMTPAM) which was registered in 1978

 

NEGOTIATION WITH JOINT HEALTH SECTOR UNIONS (JOHESU) AS A RECOGNIZED UNION

It should be placed on record that JOHESU is a coalition or conglomeration or association of five distinct registered trade unions in the health sector. At no time have we presented JOHESU to the federal ministry of health (FMOH) and government as a registered trade unions. This error should therefore be corrected. Each of the five registered trade union that constitutte JOHESU reserved the right to be recognized and be treated as a legal entity at any point in time and may embark on strike or any other industrial action whenever it deems it necessary provided the due process of the law is followed.

 

JOHESU DISSOCIATING ITSELF FROM OUR GROUP

It is not worthy that the federal ministry of health talks about JOHESU Dissociating itself from our union. We hereby challenge the ministry to produce evidence to this effect. However we will like to assert that the leaders of our union were present at the last two meetings of JOHESU versus government which were held on 9th october and 6th of november 2014 respectively and the national president of this noble union is still the vice chairman of JOHESU. We therefore assert that at no time did we withdraw our membership from JOHESU but we have the right to agree or disagree on issues in accordance with our constitutional rights

THE GROUP NOT RECOGNIZED BY FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HEALTH

The nigerian union of allied health professionals (NUAHP) is both recognized by law i.e trade union act cap T14 LFN 2004, Third schedule part C and all other employers of health professionals in Nigeria especially in the various tertiary and state hospital management boards. It is therefore strange that FMOH department of hospital serveices claimed ignorance of such a popular union. We therefore suggest that the list of registered trade unions should be made available to your department throught the industrial relation unit of your ministry's department of human resources.

 

ILLEGALITY OF THE STRIKE BY OUR UNION

We are amazed that the ongoing strike by nigerian union of allied health professionals (NUAHP) members could be described as illegal based on Dr P A osinubi's criteria for describing the strike as illegal namely;

a) Joint health sector unions (JOHESU) dissociating itself from the group

b) The group not having recognized by the federal ministry of health (FMOH)

 

Having disputed these two criteria and in view of the fact that our uions was duly registered by federal ministry of labour and productivity and that due processess of declaring the strike has been fulfiled by holding the national executive council meeting between 27th and 30th august 2014 at asokoro disrict hospital, abuja and national administratie council meeting of 13th of october 2014 the strike therefore not be described as illegal. An example of illegal strike is the one embarked upon by NMA and MDCAN in july and august 2014

 

THREAT OF NON PAYMENT OF SALARY TO STRIKING WORKERS

We strongly disagree and vehemently oppose the directive to chief medical directors / Medical diretors not to pay our members who are engaged in the ongoing strike, in view of the fact that members of NMA and MDCAN who engaged in two months striek between july and august 2014 were paid their salaries without fail. Any attempt to carry out this directive by any institution would amount to partiality, double standard, victimization and miscarriage of justice and shall be met with the stiffest opposition possible from our members. We therefore strongly advise the authorities concerned not to allow the current industrial action to snowball into a lingering industrial crisis.

 

DISCIPLINARY ACTION DURING STRIKE

Having clearly stated that the ongoing strike has been declared in accordance with the law and due process, members of the unio who embarked on the strike should not in any way be disciplined for their action. It should be placed on record that NMA and MDCAN who went on strike between july and august 2014 were neither disciplined nor sanctioned for embarking on such strike. We therefore demand that equal treatment should be meted out to all staff in the same institution.

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

From the above itemized points, you could see that our union is a registered trade union and due processess were observed before declaring the ongoing strike and also as a registered union we reserve the right to be recognized and be treated as a legal entity at any point in time. 

 

In the same system where NMA and MDCAN, not being registered union embarked on two months strike and nothing was done to them, meanwhile our own strike is legitimate by registered union therefore we submit that no disciplinary action should be taken against any of our members for heeding the legitimate diretive of the national leadership of the union.

 

Yours faithfully.

Com. O.C Ogbonna

NUAHP National General Secretary