Katsina health workers begin seven-day warning strike September 8

Katsina health workers begin seven-day warning strike September 8

The Assembly of Health Care Professionals in Katsina State says its members will begin a seven-day warning strike from midnight on September 8 over unresolved demands.

The assembly announced this in a notice jointly signed on Tuesday in Katsina by the Chairman of the assembly, Mr Ibrahim Balange, chairmen and secretaries of three other unions.

They comprised the Health Workers Union of Nigeria, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.

The notice, addressed to the State Head of Service, followed the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum issued to the Katsina State Government on August 11.

Balange said that the “ultimatum expired without serious commitment by the government towards addressing the union’s longstanding demands.”

He said that the assembly’s members unanimously resolved to begin the warning strike at 12 midnight on Tuesday, September 8.

He said, “The unions will proceed on an indefinite strike if the government fails to address their demands at the expiration of the seven-day warning action.

“For the avoidance of doubt, over the years that we have been on this struggle, the state government has never demonstrated any form of seriousness on our long overdue legitimate demands, despite admitting the justification of our cries.”

Balange appealed to “members of the public to understand the situation and hold the government responsible for inconveniences that might arise from the industrial action.”

He said that the assembly had “exhausted all available avenues for an amicable resolution of the issues.”