Nigeria’s Health Minister, Ehanire Osagie, has pleaded with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to suspend its nationwide strike.
Ehanire made the appeal while speaking at the Monday briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja.
He said the workers should consider the Coronavirus pandemic as the reason for his plea and urged the striking workers to resume.
He said, “I use this opportunity to appeal to JOHESU to suspend their industrial action and go into negotiation.
“The position of the Ministry of Health is that strikes by healthcare workers jeopardise the lives of citizens, especially at such times of global health emergencies as now.
“Nigeria needs the service of all our health workers to control the spread of COVID-19. Issues around allowances are multi-sectoral and have always been saved with negotiations no matter how long it took.”
The health workers begun a nationwide strike on midnight of September 13 after claiming that the government failed to pay allowances for services rendered during the COVID-19 pandemic and other welfare packages earlier agreed upon.