Health workers at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital on Thursday staged a peaceful protest at the commencement of the nationwide strike embarked upon by the Joint Health Sector Union.
The union, whose membership includes other hospital workers apart from doctors, are demanding payment of their promotion and salary arrears as well as teaching and uniform allowances, among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that four affiliate unions of JOHESU participated in the peaceful protest at the Idi Araba premises of LUTH.
These were the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, Medical and Health Workers’ Union and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions.
Kehinde Adegoke, the Lagos State Coordinator of JOHESU, said the indefinite strike became necessary following Federal Government’s failure to meet the union’s demands after a seven-day ultimatum.
Adegoke said: “The Federal Ministry of Health has been frustrating the implementation of the court’s judgement by introducing same scale promotion.
“As we speak, the Federal Government has not paid arrears of the skipping salaries to our members.
“We expect government to attend to every issue raised in the health sector and not separate one association from another.
“It is unfortunate because we really feel for the patients, but there is nothing we can do because our members can no longer exercise patience.”
The Chairman of LUTH Chapter of JOHESU, Johnson Shaba, said efforts made through several committees to get the Federal Government to implement the agreements reached were being frustrated.
Shaba said: “We have tried our best to make sure that government answers us and honours all the agreements that had been on the ground since 2012.
“Doctors are now the ones enjoying our struggles on skipping allowance and we were the ones who went to court to fight for it
“We are saying enough is enough because everybody is important in the health sector.”
Also, the LUTH Chapter Chairman, NUAHP, Adegoke Akinfeleye, said all health professionals deserved equal rights and service condition for stability.
“We sued the federal government to court for skipping of levels, appointment of consultants from other health professionals and professional autonomy,” Akinfeleye said.
LUTH Chapter Chairperson of NANNM, Yemisi Adelaja, said the strike was to draw Federal Government’s attention to the plight of workers in the health sector.
Adelaja said: “We are fighting for our rights because federal government refused to meet our demands since 2012.
“The threat of ‘no work no pay’ can never scare us because we are not cowards and it is a national strike and not individual association’s strike
“Other associations went on strike and nobody threatened them.”
NAN reports that among other JOHESU demands were payment of skipping arrears and review of the CONHESS table and elongation to accommodate CONHESS 16.
When Contacted, LUTH Public Relations Officer, Kelechi Otunme, said the management of the institution was yet to react to the protest.
NAN.