Kaduna Health Workers Begin Five-Day Warning Strike

Kaduna Health Workers Begin Five-Day Warning Strike

Health workers across Kaduna State have commenced a five-day warning strike to press home their longstanding demands.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) check revealed that only doctors and laboratory technicians were present in some public hospitals, while many patients had been discharged due to the absence of nursing staff.

Chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives in the state, Mr. Ishaku Yakubu, explained the reasons behind the strike in an interview on Monday in Kaduna. “The health workers embarked on the strike over issues that are yet to be resolved between them and the state government,” Yakubu stated.

Yakubu highlighted that the health workers have been on the CONHESS salary structure since 2009, and the 2012 and 2013 versions of this structure still need review by the state government. “We have been working on these for the government to do something but they approved the doctors and given them 100 per cent while we nurses are yet to receive anything from them,” he added.

Since 2015, the state government had promised a salary increase, but, according to Yakubu, “up till now, nothing has been done.” Additionally, the state government has not approved the 2003 hazard allowance sanctioned by the Federal Government.

The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry for Health, Dr. Aishatu Mohamed-Saqid, stated that she would officially respond to the situation on Tuesday.