By Daniel Ayantoye
The Federal Government was berated over alleged salary disparity among health workers in Nigeria.
The Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Health Care Professionals (JOHESU), gave this condemnation as it gears up for its industrial action.
This is also coming as the strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) enters its seventh day.
Speaking with Pilot Health in a telephone chat over the weekend, the National Secretary of JOHESU, Ekpebor Florence alleged discrimination among health workers by the Federal Government.
She accused government of favouring a section of health workers over others, saying, “When some other health workers go on strike nothing happens but when doctors go on strike government are ready to open Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Doctors are not the only people that make the health sector to work. So, why do we continue to deny other people their right while we meet the demand of others, this is part of the issue we are looking into,” she said.
The union had earlier in a letter sent to the National Assembly and signed by the JOHESU National Chairman, Joy Josiah, and the National Secretary, threatened that if the Federal Government refused to as a matter of urgency address its agitations, it would have no option but to shut down health care facilities nationwide.
Resident doctors had on September 4 began a nationwide indefinite strike after a meeting of its national leadership, saying they had to proceed on the action because the Federal Government failed to meet their demands.
Also recall that this medium had earlier reported the pathetic situation at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), where patients were turned back due to the ongoing strike by resident doctors.
Consequently, most patients now patronise private and state owned hospitals, according to findings by our reporter.
