Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo | Photo credit: MSF
The Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) has demanded the immediate payment of the seven-month arrears of the 2024 pay rise.
The demand is contained in a communique issued on Tuesday at the end of the national executive council (NEC) meeting of NUAHP and Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) held in Jos, Plateau state.
Kamal Ibrahim and Martin Egbanubi, national president and general secretary of NUAHP, respectively, jointly signed the communique.
Members under the NUAHP include the pharmacists, physiotherapists, medical laboratory scientists, imaging scientists, and dental technologists.
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Others are occupational therapists, health information management practitioners, dental therapists, dietitians, and other related health professionals.
The union leaders said the NEC was dissatisfied with the delay in the implementation of the 25 percent and 35 percent review of the consolidated health salary structure (CONHESS).
“The NEC-in-session was particularly worried about the seven months’ arrears (June 2023 to December 2023) of the 25 percent and 35 percent CONHESS in spite of being captured in the 2024 budget and now in the 2025 budget,” the communique reads.
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“NEC describes the delay in the payment as unacceptable and considers it a violation of item five of the FG-JOHESU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 29th October 2024 and the resolution reached on 20th December 2024, respectively.
“NEC therefore demands for the payment of these arrears without further delay to avert industrial action.”
The unions said, despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the federal government and JOHESU on October 29, 2024, after the suspension of the union’s nationwide strike, the government had yet to fulfil its obligations contained in the agreement.
They urged the government to consider the implications of resuming the suspended strike action in the health sector and the nation in general if it failed to urgently address the matter.
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“NEC calls on President Bola Tinubu to honour his promise to JOHESU by directing relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other organs of the federal government to expeditiously deal with this matter for sustainable industrial harmony and in the public interest,” the unions said.
The unions also urged the government, at all levels, to implement tax reductions on clinical allowances like call duty, shift duty, and teaching to cushion the effects of the high cost of living on the livelihood of health workers.
They appealed for the payment of the retention allowance as an incentive to motivate healthcare professionals who chose to stay back in the country.
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