Health Workers Declare Nationwide Indefinite Strike
The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), on Monday, declared an indefinite strike action due to the inability of the federal ministry of health to meet the demands of the union.
The president, NUAHP, Comrade Obinna Ogbonna who revealed this to journalists said the union had waited patiently, shown enough restraints and had exhausted all other industrial means to ensure that the strike do not hold.
Ogbonna said, “We have exhausted all other industrial means because of the poor Nigerian masses who will suffer when we withdraw our services from the health facilities nationwide. We regret any inconveniences or avoidable sufferings and deaths that may arise as a result of this action. We have been pushed to the wall and this strike is inevitable.”
Haring on the issues behind the strike, the president said the issues under contention had been on since 2009 after the union had reached a collectively bargained agreement with the government.
He listed some of the issues as,” lack of basic consumables to treat patients in health facilities, lack of basic working equipment for diagnosis and treatment of patients, structural defect and corruption at the federal ministry of health and other health facilities and shortage of manpower at various professions”.
Other issues raised by the president are the preferential treatment of medical practitioners in the health sector and neglect of other healthcare professionals, noting that wrong interpretation of extant laws on the appointment of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors of tertiary hospitals were part of the anomalies.
“Lack of the implementation of the National Health Act, frequent police brutality in various health facilities over peaceful protests and heavy taxation on our members in a dwindling economy are also part of the issues we want the federal government to address,” he added.
The president however directed all tertiary health institutions, federal medical centres and state owned institutions with similar problems to commence the strike immediately.
