We must let the world know that the Health Workers are seeking for redress against injustice and not seeking equality in remuneration.
We are questioning where in the world does a first degree holder under the disguise of MBBS enter into service at GL12?
We are questioning the rationality of an employed graduate Pharmacist, Physiotherapist, Medical Lab Scientist, Nurse etc spending about 10 years in service before catching up with an MBBS graduate at his/her point of entry!
Where is it in all the guidelines for employment into the public or civil service? Where is the Head of Service of the Federation? Where is the Secretary To The Government Of The Federation? Where is the Chairman Salaries and Wages Commission? Where are the Heads of Establishments in The Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of The Accountant General and Auditor General of and for the Federation? Where are they?
Where is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice? Where are the Law Makers in the Hallowed Chambers of National Assembly? Where is the Vice President a revered Professor of Law? Indeed, Where is Mr President, the shining example of integrity, accountability, equity and justice?
Where are all these authorities when Health Workers in Nigeria are being subjugated and oppressed by a microscopic few that arrogate to themselves the power to determine who gets what, when and how?
Let the public know that right in our current salary table (CONHESS) is a design to truncate our career progression for a period of four years.
On the table, there is no provision for Deputy Director despite the fact that health workers get promoted to that rank after spending at least four years in the rank of an Assistant Director.
One of our demands is the implementation of the adjusted CONHESS table from 15 to 16 to accommodate Deputy Director on CONHESS 15 and scale up the Director to CONHESS 16.
Other demands such as adjustment in retirement age from 60 to 65years cut across all categories of staff in the Health Sector including the so-called Medical Staff.
I want to use this opportunity to call on all well meaning Nigerians, Traditional, Religious leaders and Leaders of thought to prevail on Government to address the question of inequality and illegalities pervading the health sector.
Health Workers are not worried that the Medical Doctors in Nigeria are jumping scale without any enabling circular from Establishment. They are enjoying skipping with arrears without any appropriation. They were paid CONTISS Arrears running into billions sometimes in 2004 or thereabout even when they weren’t on CONTISS Scale. We can go on and on, but these haven’t been part of our demands despite being our civic duty to point out.
For peace to return and sustained, Government should mutter the desired courage to address our concerns for the benefits of the downtrodden masses of this country that doesn’t have the means to afford the throat cutting prices charged at Private Clinics predominantly owned by the Medical Doctors.”
Stephen Chubiyojo, a Pharmacist and Abubakar Umar (Saraki)PhD, wrote in from Abuja. [myad]
