The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has raised alarm over the alleged unhealthy relations in the health sector.
The union also lamented the fact that, “President Muhammadu Buhari has deliberately refused to give them audience despite many attempts to see him about the unhealthy industrial relations in the health sector.”
President MHWUN, Josiah Biobelemoye, stated this at a Public lecture to mark the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN); titled: Industrial Relations in Nigeria Today, Challenges and Prospects, weekend in Abuja.
According to him, until the president gives audience to the health workers, he will never know the truth about happenings in the health sector.
He reiterated that there must be justice and fairness in the health sector for it to enjoy peaceful industrial relations, just as he regretted that President Buhari has given audience three times to the members of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), but failed to give the health workers audience even once since he came to power over three years ago.
“The President and Commander In Chief of this country must change the way he handles the issue of health in the country.
“The president cannot give audience three times to less than five per cent of the people who work in the health sector and when the over 95 per cent of the workers in the health sector are agitating and the President cannot give us audience.
“When he does that, he will know the truth. What we are saying is that justice should be given to us. The president should give us audience.”
He called on the government to respect collective agreement entered between his group and the government, reiterating that: “Until the bias stops, the health system cannot work well. There will be no peace if other professions are seen as more superior than others.”
The health workers, Biobelemoye said, have been working hard to maintain peace in the sector, but however, alleged that, “but this has eluded us because some people have deliberated refused to allow the peace to remain.
“There has been deliberate efforts to cause chaos in the system so that they can use that to advance their own hidden venture of privatization so that they can go back and buy the hospitals for peanuts and deprive the common people of accessing healthcare services.”
The President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in his remarks appreciated the union for their contributions to the NLC and the Labour movement in Nigeria.
He commended the Union for keeping to the agreement to make the NLC independent, adding that the contribution of the medical workers to the growth of unionism in the country cannot be overemphasised.
On the issue of workers’ welfare, Wabba pointed out that workers are not slaves, and that the era of master and servant relationship have come and gone with the colonial masters.
He also added that workers are the ones creating the wealth that the politicians are feasting on, hence their rights should be respected.He also said health care is a fundamental human right, adding, “you need to be healthy to go to school; the key parameters to measure development, four of them are in health.”
He frowned at the situation whereby the government deliberately placed one group in the health sector above the other, thereby giving the impression that one group is better than the other.
To him, it is pure injustice to say that just because you work as a doctor, your salary should be this, and as a nurse, your salary should be this, and below, without giving due consideration to the hours you put on the job and your contribution.