By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Primary healthcare (PHC) centers across Kaduna State remain locked as meetings between the state’s health workers union and government officials ended without a resolution.
This was confirmed by a coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) after visiting several health facilities in the Kaduna Zone. The Co-Chairman of the Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), Comrade Isah Gidado, stated, “I just returned from Zone 3, and the strike is still ongoing. All PHCs are closed. The government held two meetings with the unions last week, but no resolution was reached.”
The strike, led by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Kaduna, was declared indefinitely in response to unmet demands. These include the payment of a 30% balance on the 2009 salary structure agreed upon in a 2015 memorandum of understanding with the state government.
Comrade Ishaku Yakubu, a union leader, explained that healthcare workers in Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, who are fully on the 2009 salary structure, are also demanding an upgrade to the 2019 salary scale. He highlighted other concerns, such as the non-implementation of the 2021 hazard allowance for Ministry of Health workers, although the allowance has been implemented at Barau Dikko.
Additionally, the union is advocating for the payment of eight months of salary arrears owed to workers employed in April 2023, who only began receiving payments in February 2024.
“We are also in solidarity with our colleagues who are owed these arrears. These are the reasons for the strike,” Comrade Yakubu said.
The coalition of CSOs, led by KADMAM, met with the union leaders to better understand the reasons behind the strike and explore ways they could assist through advocacy. “We had a productive discussion with them, and they have promised to advocate on our behalf to the relevant stakeholders,” Yakubu added.
He mentioned that the union had agreed to consult its members about the possibility of reconsidering the strike, but insisted that their demands must first be met. “If the government provides a genuine and tangible commitment to addressing our demands in writing by the end of October, we are ready to call off the strike immediately.”
The strike, which began in early October 2024, has severely affected healthcare services in the state, with no resolution in sight unless Governor Uba Sani takes action to meet the union’s demands.
