State NLC Boss Directs Health Workers To Suspend Strike

Striking health workers in Akwa Ibom State have been directed to suspend the strike and go back to work.
The Chairperson, Nigeria labour Congress Akwa Ibom Council, Comrade Uyime Usoro gave the directive recently after a closed – door meeting with the state Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, Head of Civil Service, Mrs. Grace Anwana, Special Adviser on Public Matters, Labour and Productivity, Sunny Akpadiaha together with other union’s officials at Government House, Uyo.
The Health workers comprising nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals had gone on strike since July 19, this year after a one-week warning strike to press for the payment of Consolidated health Workers Salary Structure introduced by the Federal Government.
The unions involved in the strike are National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), National Association of Medical health Workers of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Medical Scientists and Allied Professionals and Nigeria Union of Pharmacists.
Comrade Usoro said the unions have accepted the government’s plea for the striking workers to go back to work pending the resolution on the payment of the enhanced salary to health workers.
He expressed the hope that as a promise keeper, the Governor would quickly facilitate payment of the salary to bring them at par with their counterparts at the Federal level.
Earlier, Governor Akpabio had said the government believes in dialogue and was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
Chief Akpabio appealed to the workers through the unions to suspend the one-month-old strike and resume work to enable government to look into the issues with a view to implementing them.
He re-emphasized that workers’ welfare is a priority of his administration and pledged to set up a committee to look into and resolve all the grievances involving health and judiciary workers in the state.