Hospital gets 7-day ultimatum to resolve dispute with nurses

The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Chapter, has given the management of the hospital a seven-day ultimatum to resolve its dispute with the nurses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the nurses have stopped shift duties, since March 7, over the non-payment of three months arrears of shift duty allowances.

NAN further reports that all the nurses crowd into the hospital for the morning shift, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and come to work only on week days, leaving patients unattended to, between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m..

The nurses have resolved to maintain the one-shift working hours until their demands are met.

Mr Mustapha Kabir, JOHESU Chairman, who spoke on the situation, however told NAN that other workers would join the fray if management failed to settle the nurses in the next seven days.

“We have given the management a 7-day ultimatum within which to resolve the issues with the nurses. If that is not done, other workers will shun the shift duties,” Kabir told NAN on Monday in Jos.

According to him, JOHESU has resolved that other health workers, aside the nurses, would also shun shift duties at the expiration of the ultimatum.

Kabir attributed the non-payment of the arrears to payment migration to the IPPIS, in 2015.

“From our findings, N63 million was released to the management in December 2015 for payment of the three months’ shift duty allowances, but the money was not withdrawn before it was mopped up."

“We have consistently reminded management to seek the money and pay; if it fails, we shall join the nurses and we shall all be out of this hospital by 4 p.m. everyday,” he said.

Reacting, Dr. Edmund Banwat, the Chief Medical Director of JUTH, told NAN that the management of the hospital had taken steps to resolve the lingering issue.

Banwat, however, said that the union had shelved its initial threat to join nurses in boycotting shift duties.