By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Kaduna State health workers union body said they’re ready to called off the six days old strikes immediately it receives any genuine and tangible commitment from Governor Uba Sani.
The State Chairman, National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwife (NANNM), Comrade Ishaku Yakubu, disclosed this Monday in an interview at the end of a dialogue meeting with Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), a coalition of CSOs working for improved healthcare service delivery for communities.
Comrade Yakubu who was present along with leaders of two other sisters health workers unions said the dialogue meeting was called by KADMAM to interface with them on the ongoing indefinite strike action embarked upon by nurses, pharmacists and lab scientists in the state.
He said “Today is the sixth day of the strike and if you go round, you’ll discover that secondary and primary health facilities in the state are not function right now without the services of the 3 health workers bodies members”.
Yakubu said the demands made by the health workers unions includes 30% balance of their 2009 countess based on 2015 agreement, MoU entered by the state government and health workers unions.
“Our colleagues in Barau Diko who are 100% 2009 countess, are also demanding for improvement. They’re demanding for 2019 countess, so we’re in the strike together.
“Then there’s a hazard allowance of 2021 which has not been implemented in Kaduna state for Ministry of health but implemented in Barau Diko Teaching Hospital.
“So those in the ministry of health are also demanding that the hazard allowance be implemented for them.
“We also have some of our colleagues employed in April 2023, and were not paid until February 2024. So they have 8 Months salary arrears. So we are also in solidarity with them for government to pay them.
“These are the reasons for this strikes. So KADMAM heard that we are on strike and decided to come and find out what’s the reasons for the strike, and if in any way they can be of help through advocacies.
“We’ve had a robust discussion with them (CSOs), and they’ve promised us to make advocacy to inform relevant stakeholders about the demands.
“They call on us to sympathies with members of the public to access these health services and pleaded with us if in any way we can consider our people in the community.
“We agreed with them and told them we’ll get back to our members who asked us to embarked on the strike, because we have demands, and if the demands are met today we’ll call off the strike today.
“And we know that its not possible to pay the salaries today, but let the Governor make a tangible commitment, and make pronouncements that he’ll implement the demands by end of October 2024, with written agreement, strike will be call off today immediately”, he assured.
Also in an interview, the Co-hairman of KADMAM, Isah Gidado said they called for the meeting with the leaders of the 3 organization to chat ways forward to end the strike for the benefit of the communities.
“We’ve reach consensus that they’re ready to resume work if government makes tangible commitment to meet their demands against October ending.
“We’re here because we work for the community to get the best health service delivery. So today if nurses and other health workers are on strike virtually all over 255 facilities and all other health sectors will be down. We’ve more than 1000 heath facilities that’ll be close down in the state, that’ll be a disaster for us.
“The next step is for us to engaged the relevant authority. We’ll write to the Head of Services in the state, seek for appointment, seat down with him and find ways to settle the strike matter through advocacy”, he stated. End.
