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From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The South East zonal Coordinator of Nigeria Allied Health Professionals as well as the Anambra State Chairman, Comrade Charles Nwoye has berated the federal government and State for neglecting health workers in South East and other parts of Nigeria.
Nwoye while addressing journalists in Nnewi in remembrance of this year’s Workers Day described labour as the engine room of any society. He added that the economy of any nation is dependent on a healthy labour force which he said should be properly managed.
He noted that once the labour force was managed well that the economy would thrive. He explained that the nation’s economy had continued to go down to indicate that the labour force had been mismanaged and neglected by politicians who he described as bad managers of State affairs.
“The healthcare workers are not receiving a befitting treatment from any of the three tiers of governement. Governments have not been doing well for workers, especially the health workers who deserve a preferential treatment because of the strategic nature of their job.
“We are suffering and being exposed to dangers. Most of our members work 24 hours because we stay on call at all times. We are not given any option. We have enormous responsibilities and there should be adequate welfare management for the health workers.
“There are issues not being tackled by the government. At the federal level, our members have been on a pay which is supposed to have been adjusted since 2010 consolidated salary structure.
“We are using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government again to quickly look at the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers and implement the adjustment we proposed since 2017. It was agreed in 2017 and still not implemented. It was due in 2010, ” he said.
Nwoye said the negotiation was being done under five unions of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU). He regretted that this had not been implemented, adding that the adjustment they were demanding was to add one or two figures to what they currently receive.
“From 2014 till date, you know the rate of inflation the nation has gone through, the devaluation naira has gone through. Check the margin and you will find out that it is more than one hundred percent. Yet we receive the same salary. Government borrows here and there as naira value drastically drops.
“The salary that could cater for a family of four in 2014, for instance, can no longer cater for them now. And the salary remains the same without any increment. How can we survive? We are suffering in earnest.
“Anybody who say we embark on incessant strikes is not being fair to us. The word incessant is either coming from our enemies or from the opposition. We do not go on strike without any reason. Anybody who accuses us of incessant strikes is ignorant of the situation on ground.
“The politicians entrusted with the management of the system have failed out of selfish interest. They take what they are supposed to take and the ones they are not supposed to take. They loot billions of naira and dollars everyday and put them into their foreign accounts to the detriment of the workers who go to market with the little they have to boost the economy, ” he said.
Nwoye noted that when the health workers go on strike their demands were about ten percent of their salary and welfare while other demands were about infrastructure and provision of good working environment. He said that was for the interest of the masses.
He suggested to Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to consider setting up ultramodern diagnostic medical centers in each of the three senatorial zones of Anambra to be used for medical tourism in the State.
Nwoye noted that there is so much money in the health sector which governement could properly exploit. He said that Governor Soludo’s administration could still make Anambra a health hub in Nigeria.
He expressed concern that one of the major problems currently facing health workers in the South East zone was insecurity. He noted that the issue of sit-at-home order had continued to expose his members to high risk as they would never stop going to their places of work on Mondays to save lives.
He decried the security problem in the South East and appealed to the South East Governors to tackle it frontally.
He tasked the South East Governors on the payment of health workers salaries and other entitlements. He regretted that health workers in the South East zone were leaving in droves for greener pastures overseas because of poor condition of service.
He named some South East Governors that had been owing their health workers several months of salary arrears and promised to make them public, if those workers were not paid with immediate effect.
He also tasked governements at all levels to come up with adequate remuneration and insurance scheme for the health workers to avoid huge brain likely to be experienced in the health sector, according to him.
