Health workers vow to continue strike despite court order

THE Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) have vowed to continue with their strike action with or without the court order asking them to halt the industrial action.

The unions said the strike would not end until government do the needful and meet their demands.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the unions, which comprises of members from all the North Central states of the country including Abuja, in Lokoja, on Monday, the secretary general of JOHESU, Comrade Silas Ademu, accused government officials of thwarting moves to end the strike.

He noted that some government officials saddled with the responsibility of negotiating with the union for a purposeful and peaceful settlement were the same people thwarting the effort of the government.

According to him, all the meetings the union held with government delegates could not yield result due to lack of sincerity and honesty on the side of the government representatives.

Ademu, who said the unions were yet to receive any court injunction, berated the NGO that claimed to have gone to secure an injunction from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja to destabilise the unions from fighting for their right.

According to him “This purpose of this meeting in Lokoja, Kogi state capital is to abreast you with the recent development whereby an NGO was said to have gone to secure an injunction from NICN with false claims that the court has ordered that all members of the unions should return to work within 24 hours.

“It is pertinent to note that as we speak, the notice was yet to be served on us”.

The union leader, who urged the health workers to remain calm, resolute and resolve to continue with the strike, added that such action would make the federal government take the unions issues more seriously and grant their demands.

“Members are urged, therefore, to remain calm and resolute in demanding for their right. You are also encouraged to ignore government propaganda whether on Television, Radio or Newspapers until you hear from your leaders” he noted.

In his remark, the Kogi state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Onuh Edoka, revealed that in the history and struggle of labour unions in the country, the achievements of workers welfare by the unions have never come on a platter of gold.

Edoka added that the unions have never had it easy in the hands of any government, urging the health workers to be resolute in the pursuit of their right, saying “we have the right to demand our welfare no matter the suffering and intimidation”