By Hassan Zaggi
The leadership of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has said that it would not guarantee industrial harmony in the health sector if the Federal Government fails to include the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) in the 2022 budget.
It would be recalled that implementation of CONHESS has been a subject of controversy in the health sector since the past few years.
Members of the JOHESU comprise all health workers in the country with the exception of medical doctors.
They have, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to accommodate CONHESS in the 2022 budget before signing it into law.
Speaking at a flagship programme of the Africa Independent Television (AIT)-Kakaaki, which was monitored by The AUTHORITY in Abuja, Monday, the JOHESU Chairman, Josiah Biobelemoye, said that any attempt to exclude the CONHESS in the 2022 budget will meet with stiff resistance.
According to him: “We are expecting that Mr President will do us well because as a union we have yielded to his request that we should keep the health sector strike- free for the period.
“We have done our part, we expect that no matter the games that the Federal Ministry of Health is playing by trying to deny us our own right, the President has the power to direct that the committee’s job should be included in the budget before he signs it.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on Nigerians to plead on our behalf because we have been very patient, we have been very patriotic and we will not want a situation where all the effort we have put to ensure that there is peace in the health sector to waste because if it is not included in the budget, next year – a few days from now, certainly, the health sector will not be as peaceful as we have tried to keep it.
“If they don’t put the adjusted CONHESS into the budget then they should be ready for us.”
The JOHESU Chairman disclosed that his members are aware that there was already a provision of N80 billion set aside to take care of the salary adjustment for health workers, noting that it would be wrong for the Federal Ministry of Health to “divert” the funds for other purposes.
“At the peak of our agitation, the office of the Chief of Staff to the President also intervened. We are aware that there was a provision of N80 billion made to take care of adjustment of salaries. It is our strong belief that even if they have not specifically stated that this amount is for CONHESS adjustment, I think there is a provision made already.
“Our money from what the committee that was set to tackle the issue has worked out is not beyond that N80 billion. So for the President who appealed to us and who we have also listened to, we have kept our deal; we have kept our gunpowder dry. The president should do us that favour by giving us that level of love that we have shown.
“We believe that there is provision already imputed in the budget but the federal ministry of health in its well – celebrated bias would want to say the money is not meant for us so that they can favour those who they want to favour,” he said.
Commenting on the adjustments made to the hazard allowance, Biobelemoye revealed that the unions have accepted the explanation offered by the Federal Government.
He, however, warned that any attempt to favour one union against the other would be resisted.
“As for the approval of the hazard allowance, it is not where we wanted to be but as far as we are concerned government pleaded that this is what they can afford for now. In as much as we would have loved it to be higher than what we asked for, we have decided to give peace a chance and see how it is implemented.
“Government has issued a circular and we will abide by it for now but where the government listens to any agitation and increases by one kobo, that must be given to us too. Where government wishes to take our high level of understanding for granted, we will certainly tell them it is not weakness,” he warned.
He further called for the inclusion of other professionals in the sector in the top management of the Federal Ministry of Health, explaining that, the medical doctors have dominated the leadership of the ministry over the years.
He called for the appointment of hospital administrators to head the tertiary and medical centres in the country.
“If any government wants a proper health system, a developed health system in this country we should change from this leadership where they put medical doctors at the helm of affairs. Let us go back to what took us to be among the best in the commonwealth. Hospitals’ administrators should take charge so that there will be fairness and neutrality in handling hospital affairs for all professional groups,” he said.
