NGO calls on President Buhari to proscribe JOHESU
JOHESU
By Wandoo Sombo
Abuja, May 18, 2018 (NAN) An NGO, Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to proscribe the Joint Health Sector Union, (JOHESU) as an illegal association.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Executive Director of organisation, Mr Kingdom Okere asked the president to exercise his powers under Section 1 of the Trade Disputes (Essential Services) Act to proscribe the union.
Okere also said that the organisation would commence contempt proceedings against the president and entire executives of JOHESU if they failed to resume work by the close of work on May 18.
The executive director, who is a lawyer said that this was because the National Industrial Court, Abuja had on May 17, ordered the striking members of the Union to suspend the ongoing strike.
It will be recalled that the court had ordered members of the union to suspend their nationwide strike, resume work within 24 hours and resume negotiations with the Federal Government.
The President of the court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo who gave the order asked the union to take into cognizance the National Salaries, Income and Wages Act and other enabling laws.
The judge also ordered the ministers of Health, Labour and Employment, to immediately set up a committee to address issues raised by the parties.
The order followed an ex parte application by the NGO challenging the on-going industrial action, which they said had crippled the health sector.
The organization based its application on the grounds that the matter was of extreme national health emergency that promoted public health interest, fundamental rights to life and access to health care.
They further averred that the industrial action embarked upon by the health workers had paralyzed the entire health sector across the country amounting to the denial of rights to life of the estimates 190 million Nigerians.
Another basis of filing the application the organization said was because the strike had denied many Nigerians access to health care especially those on emergency unit and pregnant women.
The organization said that the strike, which commenced on April 17, was ”illegal, unconstitutional, wicked, callous, a criminal breach of trust and ill-conceived”.
The union embarked on strike to demand for upward adjustment of CONHESS salary scale, and employment of additional health professionals following similar demands by medical doctors. (NAN)
WS/YAZ