Officials of the Joint Health Sector Unions may shelve its strike scheduled to start on Sunday sequel to the conciliation meeting between it and the Federal Government.
The unions had been directed to consult its members on the agreements reached with the FG and report back to the Ministry of Labour by Saturday, September 12.
A communiqué issued at the end of the parley said the FG has appropriated N126 billion in the 2020 COVID-19 intervention Appropriation Act for infrastructure upgrading and equipment for the health, noting that lack of effective communication made it impossible for the unions to appreciate the degree of investments made in the sector.
At the meeting attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of State, Labour, Festus Keyamo (SAN); Minister of State, Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora; JOHESU Chairman, Biobelemoye Josiah, and other officials, it was agreed that the unions should be carried along in the affairs of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to ensure proper communication.
The parties equally agreed that the private sector engagement should also be encouraged as this would add value to the health sector investment generally.
On the implementation of the Special COVID-19 Hazard and Inducement Allowance in which JOHESU alleged that many of its members were either omitted or short-paid, the meeting agreed that the Federal Ministry of Health should issue a circular to the Chief Medical Directors of the various Health Institutions by Friday, September 11 requesting them to forward the list of members affected by the shortfall to the ministry by Monday.
JOHESU was also asked to mobilise their members in the local chapters of the tertiary Health Institutions to ensure that the CMDs forward the list of their members to the ministry to facilitate the payment.
On the issue of medical personnel in the education sector that were not captured in the first tranche of payments, the communique noted that this omission was not peculiar to JOHESU members alone.
The health minister said he would consult with the relevant ministers on how to address the issue as clinics/hospitals under Federal Ministries of Education, Justice and Defence were equally affected. The statement noted, “On the request by JOHESU that all health workers who hitherto were being paid N5000 as hazard allowance should be the beneficiaries of the 50 per cent of their consolidated basic salary as Special COVID-19 Hazard and Inducement allowance, irrespective of whether they are or non-core medical professionals; the minister of labour and employment explained that the MoU of April 2020 in 1(d) was explicit on this.
“However, the meeting agreed that this category of workers should be compiled by FMoH and the attendant financial implication should be computed by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to see if this request can be accommodated within the available funds because they were not in the original classification for 50 per cent.”
Regarding the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure as was done with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure since 2014, the meeting noted that the matter had been earlier referred to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria and is one of the issues that cannot be resolved by consensus at the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism.
The meeting adjourned till October 15 to enable the health ministry to carry out the assignments.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government will on Saturday, September 12, meet with representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), their affiliates as well as members of Civil Society Organisations as one of the ways to end incessant industrial actions by workers.
Ngige said this on Friday, September 11, after a meeting he held with the President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ngige noted that the meeting will have officials discuss the true state of government’s financial account to the labour leaders so that they can appreciate the challenges facing the nation.
He said, “The President has approved for us to have a bigger government side meeting with the organised labour.
“All government institutions that have to do with the finances of government will join us to meet with them and show them the books.
“So, the invitation is going out to them this afternoon (Friday), the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and their affiliates or supporters and friends in the Civil Society Organisations.
“The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday), so, I will relate more with the Chief of Staff to the President and the leadership of the unions today so that we do this meeting tomorrow.
“At the meeting, government finances, challenges and everything will be laid bare on the table. They will also table their own fears and what they think is also good for the Nigerian people especially the workers, so that we look at them.”
