•NLC President Joe Ajaero
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the federal government to remove impediments on healthcare workers’ paths to migrating to greener pastures.
Mr Joe Ajaero, NLC President, made this submission at the 11th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) today in Abuja, reports Vanguard.
The theme of the conference is, “The Nigerian Health System in the Era of Economic Downturn: Challenges and Way Forward.’’
Ajaero said that the removal of the impediments was imperative due to the unfortunate socioeconomic situation confronting workers and, indeed, the masses in the country.
“These have deep consequences for not just the provision of effective healthcare platforms to deliver services to those in need of their services but for the professionals or workers practising in the sector.
“The already poor equipment and general decay of infrastructure in the sector have worsened because of the economic situation, while the remuneration of workers has lagged, thus unable to meet the basic needs of workers in the industry.’’
He said that health delivery services had also gone beyond the reach of the average Nigerian, further complicating an already bad situation.
Ajaero said there were consequences to the increasing number of healthcare professionals and workers leaving the nation in droves.
He added that it is not just in pursuit of better living standards but in pursuit of self-actualisation and job satisfaction.
“The dearth of your members in the industry as a result of the brain drain is having serious implications for the industry’s capacity and capability to deliver quality and effective services to Nigerians.
“That is why the NLC will continue making demands on the government for fair wages to workers in all sectors, especially in critical and sensitive ones like yours; workers will always move to where they are treated better.
“We once again demand that the government remove all the impediments it is putting on your path to migration but rather focus on making workers in the sector enjoy better working conditions.
“Let salaries and wages be commensurate with the cost of living; let there be functional equipment in the hospitals; and let workers be treated as human beings,” he said.
The NLC president also said the theme of the conference was not only apt but captured the objective realities that confront the health sector.
He said there was an urgent call to engage and resolve them for the purposes of crafting a better future for the sector and Nigeria.
Ajaero commended the union’s commitment to improving the working conditions, welfare, and rights of healthcare professionals.
Mr Ayuba Wabba, former President of the NLC, called on the federal government to be transparent in its activities.
Wabba said that there should be open communication between the citizens and the government for a clearer understanding of government policies.
He also urged the union to continue to speak with one voice and remain united for the good of its members.
Also, Dr Kabiru Minjibir, acting National President of MHWUN, said that the issue of japa syndrome was a painful aspect of the Nigerian health sector.
Minjibir said that many health workers were committed to making sacrifices to serve their father’s land despite the humiliating pay structure and delivery system in the country.
The acting president said that the health workers were frustrated by the absence of an enabling work environment to fulfil their calling as professionals.
“Either the machine to perform basic procedures is not working or is not available,” he said.
He said that health workers who emigrated abroad for greener pastures were hardly replaced, thus compounding the occupational stress of the few health resources in health facilities.
Minjibir, however, charged the incoming leadership to ensure the mainstreaming of young health workers and women into its leadership cadres.
He also urged them to develop strategies to ensure that the existing assets of the union gave birth to other worthy assets, among others.
