JOHESU Vows to Resist NMA’s Threats, Intimidation

Health workers under the umbrella of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and the Allied Health Professional Association (AHPA) have condemned threats and intimidation by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and its various affiliates against other stakeholders in the health sector, threatening to use all legitimate means to resist any attempt to jeopardise the interests of its members.

Citing the a 21-day ultimatum issued to the federal government by the NMA demanding the withdrawal of circular from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) structured to affect JOHESU members on the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS); as well as plotting to stop the appointments of non-physician health workers as consultants in hospitals.

In a document signed by the National Chairman, Kabiru Ado Minjibir, the body described NMA’s 21-day strike ultimatum as unlawful and an aberration

“For the record, the NMA issued an unlawful 21-day strike ultimatum which is of no consequence within the realm of labour laws which stipulates a 15-day ultimatum as benchmark for essential workers like those in the health sector,” he said.

JOHESU advised the government against acceding to the demands of NMA, threatening to “respond with an action of equal and appropriate wavelength, intensity as well as depth.”

Minjibir argued that “NMA which constitutes far less than five per cent of the workforce in the health sector cannot continue to hold Nigerians to ransom through uncouth and crude methodologies and encouragement of the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and some other NMA members appointed at the helm of strategic MDAS in government who are lobbying silently to actualize the demands of the NMA.”

He said, “we hasten to remind the Federal Government that our flagship demand for the adjustment of CONHESS as was done for Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) remains valid and we shall ensure our rights in this regard are not truncated in the realm of a no-retreat, no-surrender pathway.”

The JOHESU leader explained that although the recent circularised allowances for JOHESU members falls below expectation, but the JOHESU/AHPA leadership had continued to carefully manage its teeming members who are over 80 per cent of the healthcare workforce through moral persuasion, which centres largely on not jeopardising the welfare of consumers of health until dialogue with the federal government proves to be hopeless and fruitless after exhausting the full complements of due process.

JOHESU, he further said has observed and can confirm that the NMA knows that relativity was not negated in working out new allowances by NSIWC, but rather choose to be driven by grudges and underbelly prejudices against our members who run 6-year programmes leading to the award of Pharm.D and O.D (Pharmacists and Optometrists); and who have been recognised accordingly to enjoy reward for their labours.