Less than a week after the National Association of Resident called off an industrial action, their counterparts in the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and Assembly Of Health Care Professionals (AHCP) have declared their readiness to down tools. The Explainer can authoritatively report that the unions have directed their members to down tools and withdraw their services with effect from midnight of Sunday, 13th September, 2020. The unions said their action was due to the refusal of the Federal Government to acceded to their demands. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government and unions in the health sector have been having a running battle over the latter’s failure to honour agreements on allowances, and the provision of critical inputs, such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
In a letter to the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, the unions declared that nothing concrete with respect to their demands had come out of the meetings between them and the Federal Government delegation.
The letter read: “Thursday, September 10, 2020, JOHESU demanded that the outcome of the meeting between JOHESU and the Federal Government be reported back to our expanded NEC meeting and a feedback be given to the Federal government within 48 hours.
“In the light of the above, the meeting of our expanded NEC was held today (yesterday), Saturday, 12” September, 2020. And at the end of the meeting, which was held both physically and virtually, it was unanimously agreed that since nothing concrete was achieved at the said meeting with the Federal Government, that the strike notice is still germane and alive.
“Therefore, the 15-day ultimatum still subsists and with effect from midnight of Sunday, 13th September, 2020, our members shall withdraw their services due to Federal Government inability to meet their demands,” the letter read.