National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Lami Victor KADUNA
Health workers in Kaduna State have commenced a five-day warning strike.
A visit by our correspondent to several public hospitals revealed that only doctors and laboratory technicians were on duty. Many patients had been discharged as nurses, who are on strike, were unavailable to care for them.
Speaking on Monday in Kaduna, the Chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives in the state, Mr. Ishaku Yakubu, explained that the strike was to press for long-standing demands.
Yakubu stated, “The health workers embarked on the strike over unresolved issues with the state government.
“We have been on the CONHESS salary structure since 2009. The 2012 and 2013 versions need to be reviewed by the state government, but nothing has been done so far.”
He added that since 2015, the state government had promised to increase salaries but has not fulfilled this promise.
“We have been working towards getting the government to act, but they approved a 100 percent increase for doctors, while nurses have received nothing.”
Yakubu also mentioned that the Kaduna state government has not approved the 2003 hazard allowance endorsed by the Federal Government.
When contacted, the Permanent Secretary of the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, Dr. Aishatu Mohamed-Saqid, said she would officially respond to the situation on Tuesday.
