TheNewsGuru

Tag: Strike

  • FG, JOHESU in closed door meeting to end strike

    The Federal Government and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) have been engaged in series of closed-door meetings to end the ongoing strike by the health workers.

    As it appears, the union and the Federal Government are making steady progress toward resolving the impasse and end the strike.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngigie said on Thursday in Abuja that the Federal Government has been having series of meeting with the leadership of the striking health workers.

    According to the minister, marathon meetings were held on Wednesday, while the meeting would also reconvene later on Thursday.

    He said that the CONHESS table that corresponds with the 2014 CONMESS adjustment with the Medical Doctors has been appropriately addressed by the National Salary Income and Wages Commission.

    The minister said this has been given as an offer in the spirit of equity.

    He, however, pleaded with the striking workers to call off the ongoing nationwide strike in the interest of the public.

    Recall that JOHESU had commenced strike on April 17, following the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreement signed with the unions.

    The union’s demands include adjustment of CONHESS salary as done for CONMESS since 2014, and abolition of scale to scale promotion, payment of outstanding arrears of promotion, skipping and relativity.

    Others are autonomy of teaching and specialist hospitals, non execution of court judgments, review of retirement age from 60-65 years as done for teachers in the tertiary education sector.

  • FG working out modalities to phase out strike actions in Nigerian varsities – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government will evolve measures to curb incessant strikes and address grievances by staff of universities in the country.

    Buhari, represented by a Director with National Universities Commission, Dr Gidado Kuma, spoke on Saturday at the 23rd, 24th and 25th combined Convocation Ceremonies of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.

    “I have noted with great concern the incessant strikes by teachers and other university workers, even though, most of the demands are germane but the repercussions have negative consequences.

    “Let me assure you that this administration will very soon come up with modalities of addressing your grievances without face-offs so that we attain stability and balance in the system.

    “The university is unable to conduct convocations as at when due for sets of students, this is not peculiar to your university but rather an underlying difficulty the system has found itself over the years,’’ the president said.

    He said that no nation would progress if its educational system was poor.

    Buhari said government was looking into the operations of agencies in the education sector to find solutions to the problems militating against their desired impact, especially in the university system.

    He said that the essence of creating a specialised university such as ATBU was to assist the country in training future scientists and launch it into the sphere of technological breakthroughs.

    Buhari challenged such institutions to surprise Nigerians at occasions such as convocation ceremonies by presenting new discoveries or inventions that would add value to the technology drive of the country.

    He said “nations across the globe are in stiff competition, we cannot lay back and take the back seat as simply consumers of other nations’ products but must come with our own products for others to buy.

    “Nations are in stiff competition to outwit one another in the area of offering quality knowledge and positive research and we must provide leadership in Africa in this regard.

    “Our agencies in charge of educational development must find a way of encouraging our youth to aspire learning in the country’s institutions but as well attract foreign students and researchers so that our global ranking of universities can soar,” Buhari said.

    He called on staff of the institution to re-invent the culture of leadership, followership and stewardship, adding that the students should imbibe the virtue of discipline and respect for their teachers and university authorities.

    He called on all state governments to support and encourage universities in their catchment areas.

    The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Saminu Ibrahim, said that the institution was graduating 8,496 students.

    Ibrahim said the graduates included 480 diploma students, 5,637 for first degrees, 1,580 for postgraduate diplomas, 770 for masters’ degrees and 90 doctorates.

    He said 118 out of 5,637 first degree students obtained first class grades, 1,618 got second class upper division, 2.609 received second class lower division, 1,431 got third class and 61 had pass.

    The vice-chancellor said the College of Medical Science of the university opened with 41 students in 2016/2017 session while 47 students were admitted in 2017/2018 section.

    According to him, the institution has commenced the construction of additional three hostels in Gubi Campus and two in Yelwa Campus to ease the problem of accommodation for students.

    “We also constructed 250 capacity auditorium, 160 capacity studio and Yelwa Campus water scheme.

    “About 490 academic staff of the university were supported to acquire PhDs,” he said.

    The Chancellor of the institution, Dr Rufus Aladesanmi, commended both staff and students for exhibiting good behaviour.

    Aladesanmi, who is also Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, said “the report I have received from the management on you are quite encouraging.

    “Since my assumption of office, there has never been any cause at all for me to intervene in any matter that could have gotten out of hand,” he said.

    The chancellor commended the president for responding to numerous challenges of the institution in spite of the economic challenges in the country.

  • JOHESU strike won’t stop port screening for Ebola – Health Minister assures

    JOHESU strike won’t stop port screening for Ebola – Health Minister assures

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole on Thursday affirmed that the ongoing Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) strike, would not hinder the Ebola screening of travellers coming into the country as health workers in the port would not be joining the strike.

    The minister disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

    Speaking on the effort the government is making to reduce the risk of the disease being imported into the country, Mr Adewole said mechanism has been put in place at the ports and borders to screen travellers coming in and going out of the country.

    “There will be screening at the airport and borders. We have also put in place a screening form to help track where people are coming from and go, as this will help improve surveillance,” he said.

    The screening form will be particularly for people coming from the west Africa and central Africa region. An emergency surveillance activities at all land and airport borders has been set up so that we can keep Nigerians safe, he added.

    Currently, there is an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo leading to some deaths.

    “Part of the new measures to be taken include screening passengers coming into the country. Not only that, we will be screening incoming passengers, particularly passengers from DRC and neigbouring countries.

    “We will also ensure we step up all activities screening people coming in so that we will not be caught unaware,” he said.

    Ebola, like other infectious diseases has a tendency of spreading across border through human migration, if not well monitored.

    In 2014, the disease was imported to Nigeria through a Liberian Diplomat who flew to Nigeria in an attempt to get to the U.S. after contacting the disease in Liberia.

    As a result of this, eight Nigerians died from the disease and many others were infected. Majority were health workers.

    The minister said to minimise the risk of importing the disease, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is currently coordinating a national working group that is assessing and managing the risk to Nigeria.

    While alienating the fears of Nigerians on the likely import of the disease into Nigeria, the minister advised Nigerians to cultivate the habit of personal hygiene and not just depend on hand sanitizers as prevention from the disease.

    He said hand sanitizers though good should not be solely relied upon as preventive mechanism for contacting the disease as hand sanitizer is not a means of preventing Ebola.

    Mr Adewole explained that Nigeria is in close communication with development partners, including the World Health Organisation, who are in Congo to monitor and respond to the situation.

    “The port health services unit has been placed on red-alert and will heighten screening measures at ports of entry.

    “Letters of alert have also been sent to all states to enhance surveillance activities and an advisory note for the general public,” he said.

    Mr Adewole said Nigeria has the capacity to tackle the disease because the country has learnt a lot from the 2014 outbreak which claimed eight people in the country.

    He said over the last few years,”we have strengthened our health security infrastructure to effectively prevent, detect and respond to infectious diseases including Ebola.”

    The Federal Ministry of Health says it remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of all Nigerians.

    The World Bank, through the regional disease surveillance systems enhancement (REDISSE) also released $90 million to help tackle surveillance and response of disease in the country and other African countries, the minister said.

    The Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said Nigeria would not be having problem tackling the disease because there are health experts in who assisted Liberia to tackle the disease in 2014.

    He said REDISSE is focused on strengthening the disease preparedness and response architecture in West African countries, including Nigeria.

    He said the main priority for NCDC is to develop a robust public health emergency preparedness and response system in other to tackle any disease outbreak in the country.

  • Doctors threaten nationwide strike if FG accedes JOHESU demands

    Doctors under the aegis of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) have threatened to withdraw their services across health institutions in the country if the federal government accedes to the demands of other health workers (JOHESU) who have been on strike for the past three weeks.

    The strike by JOHESU( Joint Health Sector Union) has crippled healthcare delivery across the country, and has left millions without care.

    The doctors, who are opposed to salary adjustment and harmonisation, one of the major demands of the striking health workers under JOHESU, said the warning became necessary as state and local government workers had been directed to join the JOHESU strike in a bid to force the government to act.

    When the strike began on April 17, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, in an apparent continuation of the rivalry among health workers, described JOHESU as an “illegal body” and urged the government to ignore its threat.

    On Thursday, the NMA in a statement signed by its newly elected president, Francis Faduyile, said it reached an agreement with the government in 2014 not to accede to demands of other health workers relating to salary adjustments and harmonisation.

    “The NMA wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Government to our correspondence of April 21, 2014 on the above, in which we reminded Government of the collective bargaining agreement we had with the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2014.

    “It is also pertinent to once again remind Government about the concluding part of our letter no. NMA/PRE/SG/03/0751 of 21st March 2014, which states, “In view of the above, the NMA painfully wishes to inform the Federal Government of Nigeria that any award to the non-medically qualified health professionals that violates the January and July agreements of 2014 shall result in the resumption of the suspended withdrawal of service of 2014. Please take this as a notice sir”.

    “The above reminder is predicated on the extension of the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the amorphous body called ‘’JOHESU’’, to States and Local government areas, the basis of which is to strengthen its callous and ill motivated agitation for pay parity between her members and doctors with the resultant erosion of relativity and further hierarchical distortion in the health sector vis-à-vis her clandestine romance with some top government officials.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian Medical Association wishes to restate her positions on the various demands of JOHESU:

    “We oppose vehemently, any adjustment in CONHESS SALARY SCALE with resultant pay parity between doctors and healthcare professionals allied to medicine, and hereby reaffirm that relativity is sacrosanct,” the statement read in part.

  • Strike: NMA appeals to FG to honour agreements with JOHESU

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has appealed to the Federal Government to honour all agreements with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), and end the ongoing strike in the nation’s health sector.

    The association made the appeal on Sunday, in Abuja in a communiqué issued at the end of its 58th Annual General/Scientific and Delegates’ Conference.

    According to the communiqué read by its new President, Dr Francis Adedayo, the association said it disparaged the strike and appealed to the Federal Government to end it soon.

    JOHESU, a union comprising all health workers in Nigeria, apart from medical doctors and dentists, began a nationwide indefinite strike on April 18.

    “We disparage the ongoing strike action by JOHESU and appeal to government to honour its agreements with all health workers.’’

    On medical tourism, the association said that: “We call on the government to improve the work environment and upgrade the infrastructure to meet international standards in order to reverse medical tourism”

    However, NMA applauded the government for its efforts in rehabilitation of primary health institutions in the country.

    “We applaud the efforts of the government in rehabilitating Primary Health Centres and other institutions in Nigeria.

    “We appeal for the accreditation of such centres as primary providers of health services in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)”

    “We want to commend the senate for improved budgetary provision in the 2018 budget for the health sector.

    “We commend the senate for approving the inclusion of one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation in the 2018 budget.

    “For improved funding of primary healthcare in Nigeria as mandated by the National Health Act 2014.’’

    The association also called on the government to increase budgetary allocation release for health to meet 15 per cent of the total budget, to embrace the universal health coverage for all Nigerians.

    Meanwhile, the association has elected new national officers to run its affairs for the next two years.

    The following members were elected into the National Officers Committee (NOC) of the NMA.

    Dr Francis Adedayo as president; Dr Kenneth Tijo as first vice president; Dr Ofem Enang – second vice president; Dr Olumuyiwa Peter – Secretary general; Dr Benjamin Ikechukwu – Deputy Secretary General.

  • FG confirms meeting with JOHESU, reveals when strike will end

    FG confirms meeting with JOHESU, reveals when strike will end

    The federal government has confirmed meeting with the leadership of the Joints Health Unions (JOHESU) in a bid to end the ongoing strike.

    This was revealed by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole on Wednesday while addressing journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

    The minister said government has set up a high-level committee to review the demands of the striking union and find a lasting solution.

    JOHESU, comprising health workers apart from medical doctors and dentists, are on an indefinite strike to press home their demands (technical and financial) from the government.

    The minister said the committee had met five times start from last week Tuesday and would also be meeting Wednesday night.

    “We are really at work with respect to this. We have done quite a lot of computation, we have met with (Ministry of )Finance, we have met with Budget and National planning. We are looking into all issues relating to this strike,” he said.

    The minister however debunked the union’s claim of a prior agreement which was not fulfilled.

    “But let me also put it on record that when we came on board, JOHESU approached us that they had an agreement with government but we discovered that there was really no agreement with government.

    ‘What they were able to provide were minutes of meetings held previously and we told them that no responsible government will implement minutes of previous meetings. And of the 15 points demands, we have met 14 of them over the one and a half years. The only one left we are currently meeting on,” Mr Adewole added.

    The strike which is on its eighth day has crippled health care delivery across federal health institutions across the country.

    The government had threatened to invoke the ‘no work no pay’ rule on the strike but the union called the bluff of the government, saying it will be on the strike until its demands are met.

    The union also vowed that state and local government health institutions will join the strike within two weeks if the government fails to accede to the demands.

    JOHESU also said it is no longer ready to go back to the negotiation table with the government.

    According to National Vice Chairman of JOHESU, Ogbonna Chimela: “There is no more negotiation because the government had already reached an agreement with us and signed it so nothing again to negotiate, the only thing we may look at as agreement is how many months of the arrears are they going to pay because it is now four years since 2014. Any other thing is sealed and signed.”

  • Union vows to embark on strike over sack of 22 Nigerians by Kenya Airways

    The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) says it is set for industrial action with the management of Kenya Airways over the recent sack of no fewer than 22 Nigerians.

    Olayinka Abioye, the General Secretary of NUATE, said on Monday in Lagos that the union was unimpressed with the shabby treatment meted to Nigerian employees by the airline.

    “The union has already reported the issue to several top agencies of government. We are consulting with the staff now before we plan our next line of industrial action.

    “Definitely, there will be action, the consequences of which we did not know at the moment.

    “We are going to make sure that we ground the operations of the airline in Nigeria, if the management fails to do the needful,’’ Mr Abioye said.

    He alleged that the airline violated the extant labour laws by declaring the affected workers redundant and refused to pay them their entitlements.

    According to him, the union has been communicating in writing with the management of the airline before they took the unilateral decision to disengage the workers.

    “Management does not have the right to unilaterally negotiate the severance package of workers without inputs from the union; that is not how it works and I am sure they cannot do that in Kenya.

    “So, there is certainly going to be an action unless they officially write us and call us back to the table to begin to renegotiate,” he added.

    However, the airline, had in a letter dated April 11 addressed to NUATE, accused the union of being unwilling to engage the management in negotiations on behalf of the affected workers.

    The letter, which was signed by Kenya Airways acting Chief Human Resources Officer, Bridgette Imbuga, claimed that the airline had to use its best endeavours to negotiate terms for the workers.

    Mrs Imbuga noted that the employees affected by the redundancy were those performing sales and commercial roles which had now been contracted to a General Sales Agent (GSA).

    She said that the airline had complied with the provisions of Sections 20 (1) (a) and (b) of the Labour Act, Cap 198, Laws of Nigeria, in declaring the affected workers redundant.

    Mrs Imbuga said that subsequently, the airline would proceed with the payment of their one month salary in lieu of notice and severance allowance at the rate of 23 days’ basic salary for every completed year of service.

    According to her, among other entitlements, the workers will also receive payment for unutilised leave days accrued as at the date of redundancy.

  • People suffer, die when health workers go on strike- Hong

    Dr Idi Hong, the former Minister of State for Health, has advised health workers to shun strikes and embrace dialogue in addressing their demands in the interest of the health sector.

     

    Hong gave the advice in Abuja at a reception in honour of Dr Joshua Ndom-Giyan, the out-gone Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State.

     

    He enjoined workers to consider strikes as their last weapon to press home their demands in order to save human lives, noting that industrial action had brought untold hardship to many Nigerians especially the privileged who do not have the means to access private healthcare services in the country.

     

    “I congratulate Dr Giyan and we thank God that you have finished well, and we advise you to be there for advice and consultation where necessary. Don’t abandon the hospital.

     

    “First and foremost, I want to call on our medical colleague, please strike should be the last resort. The consequences of going on strike in hospitals is people suffering and dying.

     

    “Any day, you see that there is a strike in the hospital, go and count the casualties because of the effect of the strike.

     

    “If you have issue as labour union, please engage the management, work closely and more intensive, and avoid strike at all the time,” he said.

     

    Hong also urged Nigerians to unite in the interest of peace and national development.

     

    Also speaking, a former Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, congratulated Ndom-Giyan for successful completion of his eight-year tenure as medical director.

     

    “I thank God for guiding him. I thank all the people that worked with him to ensure that he succeeded.

     

    “In fact, among medical directors that worked with me, he was among the best five and I am here to celebrate excellence,” he said.

     

    The former minister also preached unity and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

     

    Responding, Ndom-Giyan appreciated the guests and prayed God to bless them.

     

    He also thanked the Federal Government for appointing him twice as the medical director of the centre.

     

    The out-gone medical director described his eight years as eventful considering his modest achievements at the centre which have direct bearing on the lives of Nigerians.

     

    He listed some of the capital projects initiated and inaugurated during his tenure between April 2010 and March 2018 to include building of the Accident and Emergency Unit, Family Medicine Complex, Pharmacy Complex, Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Complex and Sickle Cell Disease Zonal Centre.

     

    Ndom-Giyan said he also introduced the Central Information Technology and Telemedicine, NHIS Unit and C-T Scan services at the centre.

     

    Electronic Medical Records (EMR), 200 KVA solar power; new Administrative Complex, Isolation Unit and Electronic Personnel Record, among others, were also executed by him, he said.

    Police IG halts order on withdrawal of policemen attached to VIPs

     

  • Why I ordered strike on Syria – Trump

    Why I ordered strike on Syria – Trump

    U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he ordered a strike on Syria in response to last weekend’s chemical weapons attack.

    Trump, while addressing the nation on Friday night, said the joint strike with France and the United Kingdom was currently underway.

    “A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

    “A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway,” Mr Trump said.

    Pentagon, at a press briefing on the strike at 10 p.m., said the strikes did maximum damages to Assad’s regime’s chemical weapons sites.

    Trump said that the “massacre” last weekend in Syria “was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime.”

    “The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man. They are crimes of a monster instead,” Trump said.

    Trump also took a swipe at Russia and Iran, condemning their continued support to Assad’s regime.

    “To Iran and to Russia I ask, what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children?

    “The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators,” Trump said.

    “In 2013, President Vladimir Putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons.

    “Assad’s recent attack and today’s response are the direct result of Russia’s failure to keep that promise.

    “Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path or if it will join with civilised nations as a force for stability and peace.

    “Hopefully, someday we’ll get along with Russia and maybe even Iran. But maybe not,” the president stressed.

    Trump however added that the U.S. “does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria”.

    “We look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home. We cannot purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tyranny.

    “No amount of American blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the Middle East,” Trump said.

    “We pray that God will bring comfort to those suffering in Syria. We pray that God will guide the whole region toward a future of dignity and of peace.

    “And we pray that God will continue to watch over and bless the United States of America,” he said.

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis said U.S. and its allies struck harder this time than the 2017 strike against the country which did not seem to deter the Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

    Joseph Dunford, Joint Chief of Staff, said the strikes were carried out on three Syrian chemical weapons infrastructures and the U.S. believed it would send al-Assad a strong message.

    On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said analysis done by the U.S., U.K. and France proved the chemical attack.

    In a statement Friday night, UK Prime Minister Theresa May called last weekend’s chemical attack “pure horror”.

    “The Syrian regime has a history of using chemical weapons against its own people in the most cruel and abhorrent way.

    “And a significant body of information including intelligence indicates the Syrian Regime is responsible for this latest attack,” May said.

    French President Emmanuel Macron said the response was “limited to the Syrian regime’s capabilities to produce and use chemical weapons”.

    “We cannot tolerate the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons, which is a direct threat to the security of the Syrian people and our collective security,” Macron said.

  • 74 days after, Kogi doctors suspend strike, resume treatment of patients

    Normal medical and healthcare services have resumed at Kogi State Government-owned hospitals, seventy-four (74) days after the doctors embarked on a statewide strike to press home their demands.

    This followed the suspension of 74-day old strike by members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the state.

    A NAN correspondent who monitored developments at the State Specialist Hospital (KSSH), Lokoja, on Thursday confirmed that healthcare activities had returned to the hospital.

    Some patients were seen waiting for doctors for consultations at the Outpatient Department of the hospital, including the hospital laboratory and pharmacy.

    A patient, Mrs Alimat Abdulrahman, told NAN that she was happy that the strike had been suspended, saying she had spent exorbitant amounts on the health of her sick child at a private clinic to no avail.

    “I am appealing to the government and doctors to always use dialogue as a tool to resolving industrial disputes.

    “Government at all levels need to do more for health workers to avoid incessant strikes,” Abdulrahman said.

    Mr Omeiza Adavi, a male patient, said he was glad that the strike was suspended after a very long period, saying many patients have suffered a lot due to the strike.

    He commended the doctors for sheathing their sword by suspending the strike in spite the fact that all their demands have not been met by the state government.

    One of the doctors, who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, said: “I am personally not happy about the whole situation as many doctors are in the state.

    However, Dr Ahmed Attah, the Special Adviser to the Gov. Yahaya Bello on Health Matters, expressed his gratitude to God for seeing them through the challenge of the prolonged industrial action by the NMA.

    “We thank God that in spite the strike action, the people of Kogi, who are at the receiving end, were able to get services for their health challenges from FMC, Lokoja, and private hospitals within the state, but some had to travel outside the state for medical treatment.

    “So, it is a period of reflecting over what has happened, a period to call on everyone to see what is possible to ensure that the people of Kogi are protected,” Attah said.

    He noted that the governor had taken healthcare as one of the top priorities of his administration, stressing that Bello has continued to maintain that the life and health of every citizen is very important to him.

    The special aide added that the governor was ready to do everything possible within his power to make sure that residents get the best healthcare service.

    “So, what has happened is now behind us, the important thing now is for everybody to join hands to work together to ensure that the vision of the governor succeed in the health sector.

    “The health sector is one delicate place that is full of emergencies and His Excellency understands that, and has put us on the field to continue to engage with the doctors until we got the strike suspended.

    “You can see that the doctors have resumed to their duty posts today. We commend the NMA for their consideration.

    “Of course, we are aware there are challenges of the arrears of salaries but the governor has not rested in ensuring the full payment of all emoluments of doctors and all other health workers in the state,” Attah said.

    NAN recalls that the NMA suspended the strike on March 19, and directed its members to resume on March 22, to facilitate further negotiations with the state government.