Acting National President Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria(MHWUN) Comrade Kabiru Minijibir has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving the implementation of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers.
While noting that the salary adjustment takes effect from June 2023, Minijibir urged President Tinubu to also accede to other demands causing disaffection within the health sector in order to guarantee industrial peace at all times.
Speaking at the MHWUN’s 49th National Executive Council Meeting, he urged Tinubu to speed up talks with Organised Labour on issue concerning palliative for Nigerians
In a circular dated 25th July 2023, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSWIC) announced a review of the CONHESS for health professionals, including the payment of N25,000 accoutrement allowance to medical and dental doctors in the federal public service.
The circular was signed by NSIWC boss, Ekpo Nta.
“The new salary table is attached as Annex 1. 3. All enquiries concerning this circular should be directed to the National salaries, incomes and wages commission,” the salary review circular read.
“This conglomerate under the leadership of our Union has embarked on many struggles with the federal government on many issues.
“Among these issues was government failure to address our flagship agitation for CONHESS adjustment, this issue led JOHESU to embark on a one week strike action which later attracted the attention of his excellency, President Bola Tinubu.
“The good news is that, the adjustment of CONHESS table has finally received approval of the President, effective June 2023,” MWHUN said.
On the state of the nation, he said the country was faced with challenges of banditry, kidnapping, oil bunkering, illegal mining and agitation for sucession from various parts of the country, thus paralyzing social and economic activities.
Lamenting the situation, he said, “hardly any day goes by without one negative news or the other. Painfully, all the assurances from the successive government have not manifested to any meaningful outcome, leaving citizens to the mercy of the dreaded non state actors.”
Also speaking at the meeting, former President Nigeria Labour Congress Ayuba Wabba said the only option open to the incumbent government on fuel subsidy removal was local production of crude, noting that the crisis would remain on ground irrespective of any interventions or palliatives.
He said the concept of democracy is to bring prosperity to the people, stressing that even the little interventions in terms of palliatives, not many governors could implement it effectively.
“As a union fighting for the cause of our members, we must build a strong financial base to be able to defend workers right. What we see now in the world of work is a dissatisfied workforce, no worker can boast that his or her salary can last for 30 days.
“Democracy must bring prosperity to the people, talking about palliatives, not more than 10 percent of the governors are utilising the money effectively. I believe that there should be a template for the distribution of these palliatives.
“Talking about our present predicament as a nation, the best way out is refining our own crude here at home because we can determine how we how we use it or price it,” he said.
