The leadership of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Anambra state chapter and the South zone of Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) have joined the nationwide strike in line with directives of their national bodies.
While addressing journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH),Nnewi, the Anambra state Chairman of JOHESU, Comrade Ikenna Anahalu said the members of the union in the state had to obey the directives of their national body since Federal government had not met with the unions demand to increase the minimum wage as demanded by labour and to drop the electricity tariff.
Comrade Anahalu said they would only stop when they had a directive to do so by the national leadership of the union. Let them know that workers of this country are suffering terribly and our efforts should be recognized, “he said.
In the same vein, the Deputy President, South of the NUAHP,Comrade Charles Nwoye said that what the workers were asking for was long overdue. He noted that government was playing with workers on the minimum wage issue.
“They should pay what the organized labour demands. They borrow money and send it abroad while we suffer hyper inflation here which they cause. Government has not shown any commitment to worker’s welfare.
“It is when they pay the workers well that money will be able to circulate in the economy not when they move the money away out of the country. Even traders and those in other kinds of businesses should understand that it is the workers who patronize their business that make it easy for money to be in circulation and that generates more business activities for them to meet up with inflationary tendencies.
“Can you buy a bag of rice at N60, 000 today? Very soon now a bag of rice will rise to N150, 000. The way to go is not withholding the money from the masses. Workers need to have purchasing power commensurate with the economic reality on ground.
“Government told us they removed fuel subsidy which made the prices of commodities in the market to skyrocket and there is nothing to cushion the effects. Most of us have even borrowed money more than we can pay, far above our salaries.
“Between 2019 when they did the review of the minimum wage and now the value of Naira has suffered more than 500 percent decrease and payment to the National Assembly members has risen by the same 500 percent. That is selfish interest and personal aggrandizement. That is very unfair to Nigerian workers, “Comrade Charles noted.
However, it is reported that organized labour has suspended its nationwide strike for one week, pending an internal review. The decision came after a meeting on Tuesday, where labour leaders agreed to relax the strike and monitor the federal government’s commitments to addressing electricity price hikes and the new minimum wage.
