The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to remove impediments on healthcare workers migrating to other countries in search for 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) on Friday in Abuja.
The theme of the conference is “The Nigerian Health System in the Era of Economic Downturn: Challenges and Way Forward.’’
“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.’’
“The death 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.
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.
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.
He 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.
He also urged them to develop strategies to ensure that the existing passets of the union gave birth to other worthy assets, among others.
NLC Urges Federal Government To Extract Impediments On Health Personnels Migration
