Strike: Medical, Health Workers' Union to Shut Down Hospital Nationwide ●Says government should be held responsible for economic and hardship meltdown

 

Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has advised its members nation-wide to remain resolute and be committed to the effective and orderly implementation of the nation-wide strike commencing today's midnight except the government has a change of heart before then.

The union, in a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, hinted that it would joined its national body, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the organised labour for the indefinite nationwide strike which will commence midnight on Monday.

Speaking to journalists, National President of MHWUN, Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, stated that the decision to join the strike was as a result of government’s  failure to implement the constitutional requirement of the upward review of the national minimum wage which he said was long overdue.

According to him, "Government should be held responsible for the socio-economic hardship that might occur during the strike which should have been avoided if the right thing had been done."

Josiah frowned at what he termed mischievous elements that any pay rise in Nigeria will create inflation, adding that "this is not true.

 

"For instance, the increment in minimum wage is not responsible for the current inflation in the country which is double digit neither is it also responsible for the economic recession the country found itself."

He observed that in civilized societies, the welfare of workers is a paramount responsibility of the government.

"It's very obvious that the N18, 000 national minimum wage is no longer feasible, and it is a trivialisation of a living wage to N30, 000 which is a compromised figure agreed by the government and labour. We also call on the Nigerian workers to stand firm and be resolute in the struggle until success is achieved.

 

"Government is complaining of a broken economy but the political class is earning equal to or more than their counterparts in the United States where our model of democracy was copied.

"The N30, 000 settlement figure by the Nigerian workers is less than $100 per month at current exchange rate of N365 per dollar. Whereas in the same US, the minimum wage per hour is $10, and that is $80 per day; $400 for five working days (per week) and $1,600 per month, and that's N584, 000 per month.

"Therefore, there is no reason why the political class should earn even 10 per cent more than their American counterparts while the workers are earning pittance," Josiah said.