Health workers’ strike: FG heads for Appeal Court

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja said it had approached the Court of Appeal following the judgment of the National Industrial Court, which formed the basis of the health workers’ strike and created a situation that could not guarantee industrial harmony in the sector.

It, therefore, appealed to the striking health workers, under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Unions, to “obey the rule of law and return to work” since the matter was already at the Court of Appeal.

However, medical doctors and pharmacists are not part of the union.

The strike embarked upon by the health workers followed the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum given the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu to implement the agreement reached by both parties, and the recent ruling of the National Industrial Court.

Among the issues in contention is skipping (meaning workers will be promoted straight to CONHESS 11), which is the equivalent of Grade Level 13.

But Chukwu told journalists that the government decided to appeal the judgment of the NIC because the court verdict was “very confusing and contradictory.”

He said, “The judgment was confusing and therefore the government decided to go for appeal. But skipping is not a government policy. The judgment merits appeal in order not to jeopardise national interest.

“The government feels that there is need to proceed to the Court of Appeal. We have served them (workers) and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is working with the government’s legal representative. The AGF has studied the judgment and had gone to appeal which, if not done, would cause serious crises in the future.

“We had a meeting with JOHESU yesterday (Wednesdy) but they couldn’t form a quorum. The minister of labour and the two permanent secretaries were also in attendance. We therefore had an informal meeting. We will meet again on Monday, we will appeal to them to respect the rule of law. We can negotiate on a lot of things.”

Meanwhile, JOHESU has said it is open to dialogue to resolve the nationwide indefinite strike embarked upon by the sector’s workers.

The National Secretary of the union, Mr. Yusuf Badmus, told the News Agency of Nigeria  in Abuja on Thursday that  the Federal Ministry of Health had yet to contact the union.

A visit by our correspondent to the National Hospital and Asokoro Hospital revealed that workers complied fully with the strike, with only skeletal services going on.

Read more: http://www.punchng.com/news/health-workers-strike-fg-heads-for-appeal-court/