Edo health workers’ strike claim 500

Deserted hospital

Edo Govt yet to respondSince the of 1st of July, 2011, health workers in Edo state announced an indefinite strike action after accusing the state government of alleged failure to implement the new salary scale for health workers in the state as recently approved by the Federal government.

The strike action crippled services in all government owned hospitals in the state and that has increased the pains of the people of the state. Following the strike action, there are no longer bed spaces at the Federal Government owned University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) due to the astronomical increase in the number of patients.

Thousands of patients have been sent home unattended as facilities at the hospital have been over stretched. Several persons including a nurse were said to have died as a result of the unavailability of health care in the state owned hospitals.

When Saturday Vanguard visited the UBTH, patients who were supposed to be admitted were being turned back due to lack of bed spaces as a result of the avalanche of patients that throng the hospital. It was observed that some emergency patients were forced to sleep at the corridors with their foams and wrappers. Over 500 persons have been said to have died due to lack of medical care from the hospitals. Even those could afford medical care from private hospitals, they pay exorbitantly. The Benin Central Hospital has been deserted when Saturday Vanguard visited. All the offices and hospital halls were under lock and key.

Genesis of the Strike
While announcing the commencement of the strike action, the Executive of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Hospitals Management Board (HMB), in a communiqué signed by Dr Stanley Ehiarimwian (Association of Resident Doctors), Dr Osagie Aiwerioghene (Nigerian Optometric Association), Osawe Kate (National Association of Nurses and Midwives), Osaretin Enadeghe (National Association of Hospitals Pharmacists), Alhaji Suleiman Y.E.(Association of Medical Lab Scientists of Nigeria), recalled that the Federal Government  had on January 1, 2010, approved the new salary structure for Medical and Dental Consolidated Medical and Dental Workers in the Federal public service.

The communiqué stated that the new salary structure is called Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS). “On the 8th of December 2009, another circular was issued from the same commission in the office of the presidency for a new salary structure to be called Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS). This was for the professionals in the health sector not covered by CONMESS.

Both were to take effect from January 1st 2010. When this became known, the Comrade Governor of Edo state in two separate fora in 2009 expressed government’s willingness to pay this new salary scale.

At the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria National conference in Benin in November 2009, he said the new salary scale would be extended to all health workers even though at the time only CONMESS has been circulated”. The communiqué pointed out that following his promise the JAC members’ commenced gentle persuasion with the state House of Assembly so as to inculcate the new salary scale in the 2010 budget.

“On the 2nd of February, 2010, JAC wrote a letter to the Government attaching with relevant circulars for perusal. We continued to engage the government that a committee to work out the modalities for the implementation was set up by the Head of Service. JAC met with this committee headed by a Permanent Secretary in the office of the Head of Service in March. On the 9th of April, 2010 JAC wrote to the government on the same issue asking the government to clarify the date for the commencement of the new salary scale.

Several letters were written to government, two ultimatums and still nothing from the government on the commencement date, on 30th of June a consultative forum of workers of Hospital Management Board was called and a decision to call for an indefinite strike action was reached.”

As the strike action was biting harder, the out going state Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Osahon Enabulele, appealed to the state government to urgently dialogue with the striking workers for the interest of the citizens of the state.

“We call on the state government to speedily enter into useful negotiations with the health workers with a view to giving the health workers a firm commitment on Governments readiness to fully implement the new salary scales for health workers. As the state government did for ASUU by fully implementing the new salary scale for lecturers in Ambrose Alli University (CONUASS), we passionately call on the government to do the same for health workers, especially as the CONMESS salary scale was approved and circularized before that of ASUU (CONUASS).

Also, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Edo state Hospitals Management Board, in a statement signed by its chairman, Dr Chris Eigbe and Secretary, Dr Eghe Abe after its emergency meeting, stressed the need to resolve the issues that led to the strike action as “ it is already taking a toll on the citizens of the state. That the issues be resolved on time because the longer the impasse lasts the more the number of health workers that would leave the employ of the state government. it is a fact that many of the House Officers recently given appointment have left for Federal health institutions because of the large disparity in pay and as such when the strike is finally called off the quality of healthcare might be affected.

The Association appealed to the Comrade Governor, a respected Labour leader to listen to the health workers so as to reduce the suffering of the citizens of the state in their attempt to access health care”.

The state Controller of Labour in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Mr C.I.Morka, who has been making concerted efforts to ensure the quick resolution of the crisis, expressed fears that more deaths may be recorded if the crisis was not resolved early enough but however expressed optimism that the matter may be resolved next week after he met with officials of the striking workers and the state government.

Oshiomhole’s reaction
Since the commencement of the strike action, Governor Oshiomhole had kept mum over the incident. Saturday Vanguard learnt the Governor mandated the Head of Service, Dr Simeon Imokheme and the Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Momoh to discuss with the workers.

However, as it seems, their efforts failed to yield any fruit as the workers accused the government negotiators of not coming up with any thing meaningful. But Oshiomhole broke his silence on the matter last Wednesday, while declaring the Annual General and Scientific Conference of the NMA open. He described the one month strike action as a blackmail and ill-conceived. He declared: “ Edo State government under my leadership will not fix a date for the implementation of an agreement that has not been discussed. I think I have not refused, if I intend to refuse I will say so.

I insist that we must discuss how the agreement applies to us.I am happy you recall that I came here last year not with protest and I said negotiations were going on in Abuja . I said Edo state government will not be hostile to the outcome because I believe that our own workers are not inferior to federal workers. Therefore I cannot accept that my doctors be treated as inferiors. I said when they are done Edo State government will be quite happy to implement.

But I didn’t say I am going to do it from January because I won’t be more Catholic than the Pope. The Federal Government with whom you started negotiation when did they start the implementation? How could I have started before those who authored the agreement? The governor argued that as the governor of Edo State , he is accountable to the people of the State, asserting that  “that I am not in Benin to take orders from Abuja .

I am in Benin to provide leadership to Edo State . And what I do or failed to do will be based on conviction.It is unimaginable that because I said I was committed to reviewing the conditions of service of our workers that I have denied myself therefore the right to sit down with the same workers, to discuss how this agreement will affect them. I fail to understand that. I thought you will say that because I threatened that I will not implement that is why the workers are angry and went on strike. I don’t know where I have gone wrong.

The challenge we have in Edo State today is that my own human right, that is, the right to sit down with medical staff to discuss how that agreement will apply to us is being denied. I should just announce the pay date. That is never going to happen.I ran for governorship so that I can make decisions not for others to make decisions for me to implement. Even when I copy, I make a decision to copy.

And when a doctor is in a hurry to abandon his patient and preside over his death on dubious ground that he has a pay claim, we need to revisit the whole question of ethics. Whereas we can pay arrears when issues are resolved, lives lost cannot be brought back, so why are we in a hurry? The federal government with whom you negotiated, when did they commence the implementation? Even now the federal resident doctors are on strike over that agreement. I who was not even a party, I did not even negotiate, and I have no right to sit with doctors to discuss?

Let me tell you even if you put gun to my head, I shall not yield. We must sit down to discuss. If the strike shall last for one year so be it, because we must call off the blackmail”. He added,” it is wrong for doctors to be in a hurry to commence the strike, that it is not consistent with their oath”.

While the effects of the strike action bites harder, civil society groups  and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to the Governor and the striking workers to find an end to the impasse.The African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Gani Fawehinmi Movement for Good Governance, One Love Foundation, Trade Union Congress and the Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change, while addressing newsmen called on the State Government to consider the plight of the people of the state by resuming serious negotiations with the striking health workers.

In an address read by the Executive Director, Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change, Comrade Austin Osakwe on behalf of the organized Labour and Civil Society Organizations, they lamented that “innocent citizens of the state have suffered untold hardship as they are unable to access medical care in public hospitals in Edo state. Countless number of pregnant women and other category of patients have been denied medical attention by the striking doctors and other health workers. Dear Comrade Governor, your administration has performed commendably in several fronts.

However, after an objective study of the pros and cons of the current strike action, considering the loss of lives arising from the strike action, all of which deal further debilitating blows to Edo people’s life expectancy, we will be doing you a disservice if we do not advise that you personally undertake urgent reconciliation efforts to end the strike from which your electorates are now suffering multi faceted torments from the hospitals abandoned by doctors and other category of health workers.”

However, with Governor Oshiomhole blowing hot on the matter last Wednesday, Saturday Vanguard learnt that the workers have vowed to continue the strike until government gives a date for payment. But the masses of Edo state are being deprived good health care services and people are being hopeful that the Comrade Governor will find lasting solution to this quagmire, which the Executive Chairman of the ANEEJ, Reverend David Ugolor described as “madness”.