By Asmau Ahmad
The Federal Government says it has reached a truce with aggrieved health workers of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and assembly of healthcare professions.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said this while addressing newsmen at the end of a five-hour conciliation meeting with the leadership of JOHESU on Tuesday in Abuja.
It would be recalled that JOHESU had on September 3 issued a 15-day ultimatum to the federal government to meet their demands or face an indefinite strike.
Ngige said that an understanding was reached by both parties, the meeting was fruitful and that the Memorandum of Understanding would be signed next week.
He said they discussed in a fraternal way and reached an understanding on all the issues in dispute.
According to him, this includes the enhancement of hazard allowance, review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years, the arrears of the consequential adjustment of the national minimum wage.
He added that understanding was reached on the upward adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) as done with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
The minister said there was no problem with the old issues, while the meeting agreed that the new issues should return to their employer, the Federal Ministry of Health, for discussions.
On the hazard allowance, Ngige noted that the federal government had held four meetings earlier with JOSEHU and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) alongside their affiliates, but at a point, there were areas of departure.
He said that NMA and a union hitherto thought to be part of JOHESU, demanded for the compartmentalisation of the discussions on the hazard allowance, which the government granted.
“Based on previous discussion, we delivered to them (JOHESU) the financial implication of what is due to them and they promised to get back to their members and report back to us.
“On the other hand, government is meeting with NMA next week for their separate discussion on hazard allowance. Already the federal government has budgeted the sum of N37.5 billion for this.
“The issue was resolved to the satisfaction of all of us. The government is not delaying the hazard allowance as some people want the public to believe.
“Since the past six months, government has been making concerted efforts to push the new hazard allowance into effect, which we are doing now but for disagreement between NMA and JOHESU,” he said.
On the upward review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years, Ngige said that the meeting received reports from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Health.
According to him, both agreed on the reality of the proposal.
The JOHESU President, Mr Josiah Biobelemonye, noted that “strike is not the way to go,” and expressed optimism that all issues raised by the unions would be positively attended to.
