The Federal Government has formed a seven-member technical committee to fine-tune adjustments to the new Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA).
Nurses, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Medical Laboratory Scientists, and Radiographers are covered by the CONHESS salary scale, which is a payment system used by the Nigerian federal government to pay health employees, with the exception of doctors.
The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FML&E), Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSOF), and Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System are all represented on the Committee (IPPIS).
The government’s decision to form the Committee may have led both unions to postpone their strike, which was set to begin this week, pending the outcome of the team.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, JOHESU’s National Chairman, Josiah Biobelemoye, stated that the union must give the government the benefit of the doubt in the implementation of CONHESS.
According to him; “JOHESU Leadership reviewed the totality of the meeting of October 6, 2021 at the instance of the Federal Government team comprising of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FML&E), Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSOF), Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which was graced by JOHESU/AHPA leadership.
“After a thorough evaluation of the meeting, JOHESU/AHPA resolved as follows: we applaud the decision of the meeting to guarantee the participation of all the five Trade Unions and AHPA at the sessions relating to matters pertaining to Adjustment of CONHESS, noting with strong emphasis that this guarantees the laudable spirit of participatory industrial democracy.
“We also welcome the constitution of a 7-man technical team at the meeting comprising two (2) Representatives of JOHESU, and one representative each of the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FML&E), Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSOF), Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
“We call on the Technical team to fulfil its mandate of coming up with an acceptable sum dedicated to the utilisation of adjustment of CONHESS within a reasonable timeline. We approved the timeline of two (2) weeks in the first instance that was resolved by the committee at the October 6, 2021 meeting as a step in the right direction.
“Following these arrangement, leadership under the aegis of JOHESU/AHPA requested that the FMoH should conclude negotiations with JOHESU/AHPA on all other subject matters as epitomised in the demand list of JOHESU/AHPA to the Federal Government.
“We therefore appeal to our members to wait patiently for the outcome of the report of the Technical team on adjustment of CONHESS and other demands as this will realistically form the basis of the next line of action for JOHESU/AHPA in the days to come,” the statement further stated.
