Technicians Holding Fort -HMB
By Egufe Yafugborhi
ASABA – Health services in public hospitals across Delta State have come under pressure as the ongoing strike by allied health professionals escalated, with affected workers insisting they will not return to work until their demands are addressed.
The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, NUAHP, said the strike followed months of unsuccessful engagements with the state government over allowances and other conditions affecting its members.
State Chairman of NUAHP, Comrade Uruwayino Charles Samuel Jr, narrated to Vanguard on Monday that, “On February 1st, we started engaging the Ministry of Health on three issues.
“Initially, it was three issues: the payment of 16 months arrears of the peculiar allowance, which was implemented in 2024, and the implementation of the circular on the review of allowances of health practitioners.
“We wrote to the Ministry of Health, Asaba, to engage them to implement that circular because these two demands have been paid to doctors in state employment. We submitted those circulars in February.”
He said the union’s demands were expanded after the state government approved a N200,000 monthly preferential allowance for medical doctors.
“So immediately, we declared a three-day warning strike in April. The commissioner (for health, Dr. Joseph Onojaemo) invited us and other stakeholders to a meeting.
“At that meeting, through his spokesman, he stated that the NLC and TUC had concluded that affiliates should forego the peculiar allowance because it was forgone for the implementation of the minimum wage.
“Nothing was said about the preferential allowance. When we raised our hands to ask questions, the Commissioner ended the meeting.”
Uruwayino said subsequent engagements led to the constitution of a committee in August to determine the financial implications of the workers’ demands.
“The committee agreed with us. For the preferential allowance, the committee agreed to N180,000. For the peculiar allowance, the committee agreed to 16 months of arrears.
“Everything was compiled, and the report was presented to the Honourable Commissioner, who accepted it without raising any argument, meaning there was a resolution to the dispute.”
He alleged that the implementation of the committee’s recommendations was subsequently delayed.
“When it came to paying us, he (Commissioner) started singing a different tune after all our efforts since February. He asked us to give him four months, then two months,” he said.
Uruwayino added: “The commissioner has now given us a formal invite, and hopefully we will meet this week on Thursday. But we are still going to continue with the strike until he pays us our money. We are not going to work.”
However, the HMB said the strike had not left the affected hospital departments without personnel.
An HMB source told Vanguard, “The various departments that are on strike, they have technicians, and the technicians are holding fort for them in the departments. There’s no vacuum.
“There are technicians—government-employed technicians—who are holding fort. There are pharmacy technicians, laboratory technicians and others.
“So, there’s no vacuum. Work is going on. My Permanent Secretary is even monitoring the situation.”
The Commissioner was yet to respond to the current impasse ahead of the renewed move for a truce meeting.
The post Health crisis in Delta as Allied Health Workers strike escalates appeared first on Vanguard News.