 A strike was scheduled to commence on Saturday, September the 18th, 2021, but my health care workers have come together to suspend that strike and give the federal government a 14-day break, a 14-day automaton to go ahead and implement all the agreements that they reached in December 2020 and we're discussing that now with a doctor, Dr Ifani Kasme. He is a former spokesman of the Association of Medical Lab Scientists. Good morning, Dr Ifani. Dr Ifani, can you hear us? Okay, we'll try to reconnect with Dr Ifani there, but what we're seeing with Juhisu is something that has been dragging on for far too long and they basically have gone on strike many times over the implementation of the agreements that he had with the federal government December 2020 and that really seems to be the bone of contention when will the federal government implement the demands. Dr Ifani, can you hear us? Loud and clear. Yes, I want you to first of all let us know, like put this on the table, what exactly is Juhisu asking for and what's the challenge with the federal government getting it done? Thank you very much. I must posit that the most patriotic health workforce we have in Nigeria are members of the joint health sector, you know, since after our meeting with President Muhammad Buhari sometime last year and he did appeal that wish. Yes, just following up on what he said, yes, the president did meet with Juhisu and appeal to them that there should be more patience, more understanding with his government, his administration, that they were on top of the matter and that they would definitely make sure that all the demands are met. But the issues now came about when we have Chris and Gige come out in the media to make statements about according to him saying that no doctors were being owed salaries and the fact that the NMA came into the situation and there was, you know, there came to be a conflict between who should be negotiating with the federal government. Dr Ifain, can you hear us? Seems to struggle with connecting with Dr Kasmeir Ifain this morning. The conversation really centered around what happens next with Juhisu and the federal government, you know, there of course have been the legal, you know, aspects of it where they were seemingly ordered to go back to work. The NERD of course didn't respond to that. The Minister of Labour, like you mentioned, he just said in the news that one of the stories that we took this morning saying that they are threats to go back on strike is on scrupulous or something like that. So of course this all of these conversations really, really affect Nigerians the most because there's Nigerians who get to be at the hospitals and have less medical workers attend to them. What will the next 15 days bring? You know, and if the NERD is on strike and Juhisu intends to go on strike also, it means that the whole healthcare system, you know, is going to be on, you know, snail speed and almost nobody working except private hospitals that a lot of people cannot afford to go to. So what will be the federal government's approach? What is important? How urgent is that approach? Some of the important questions. Dr Ifain, once again, can you hear us? Good morning. So just to bring us up to speed with what's on the table here, they're asking for a review of the 5000 error hazard allowance. And I don't think doctors, you know, feel that this is commensurate with all the work that you do, all the sacrifice, all the health risk, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have to be in those hospitals, offer care to those who are suffering and go back to their families, you know, a heightened risk of, you know, dying. There's been reports of lots of doctors who have passed on in Nigeria because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, you know, they have also come out to protest these health workers and their unions that, you know, the families of these people have gotten no compensation from the federal government. So this hazard allowance is one thing that's on the front burner in addition to salaries that have been owed to these workers. And one question really that I have to ask is how many more 15 days automaton would continue to be given? It's something we've seen time and time and time again at the end of the 15 days automaton. What happens next? Another 15 days, another extension. Let's see what Dr Ifani thinks. Dr Ifani, can you hear us? I can hear you. Yes, please continue your trail of thoughts on the strike and the 14-day warning. Yeah, it's okay. You know, we had that kind of issue. The joint sector, you know, had actually issued an automaton that had last week. And the union is a very patriotic union that take on the sense of the situation in the country, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic challenges in the country. Anytime the government that thinks was who would listen. But we have to be made the whipping boy. The Jews have made the whipping boy in the health sector, which is quite unfortunate. We issued an automaton and the Nigeria Medical Association became very medusome. They had to join that to the demands we had put out to our employer. One of the things that need to be put out clearly is that medical officers, like every other health profession or professional in Nigeria, in the employment of federal government, we are all employees. It is in Congress and out of place. It's quite nauseating for a fellow employee to be the one dictating the terms and conditions of work for his colleague at workplace. That's why we have issues here. Now, the point is that in 2018, we had a strike action and the government invoked the no-work-no-pay rule. And to date, our colleagues have not been paid that money. Unfortunately, some of the persons that went on strike were paid those outstanding money. Again, on the issue of the hazard allowance, we had made a position clear to government that in the past 20 years and even before then, hazard allowance had been on the flag of it for all persons that are newly exposed to same hazards in the same workplace. Unfortunately, government is not being able to be very decisive because they are being shoved up and down by the Nigeria Medical Association. The current notice we have issued is because we had withdrawn the other one that had expired following the intervention of the Honorable Minister of Health, Honorable Minister of Labor, and I must give it to the Honorable Minister of Labor. He's been top notch as a conciliator. But what we are saying is that enough of the medusomeness of our colleagues in workplace, it is not up to them to dictate the conditions of our work. If they have issues with government, they should get government on their point of argument and allow other workers to negotiate their own terms and conditions with government. It's not the situation where you dictate what we get. Now, why we have given another 15 days after a expanded next meeting is because we have consulted with our stakeholders in the health workforce, and they do feel that government has not been able to listen to us. What is the issue here? We have the common salary scale which was produced, same time secularized, same date with the common salary scale. Unfortunately, because the other people are in political corridors, they've been able to get several reviews, several, about three times a review of the consolidated medical salary structure of, but not even a single review. Whereas the memorandum of agreement we have with government does the place clearly that for every consequential adjustment on the comments, there should be a reciprocal on the common salary structure. That is yet to happen. That is the major demand we're putting out to government. I was saying that what is good for the GIZ is also good for the GANDA, particularly when it is predicated on an extent memorandum of agreement. That is exactly what we're asking. We're not asking for a pay rise. We're asking them, having reviewed the common salary scale three times serially that a consequential adjustment be effected on the common salary structure. Because a lot of other allowances are predicated on percentages of this consolidated basic. And so if you continue to up that of the other colleagues we have in workplace, while you keep an eye on that constant, you're searching our members. Besides, it is not all about enumeration. What conditions are there for our healthcare workouts? We're losing our members in the numbers following the COVID-19 pandemic because they thought for government told us in 2020 that they have an insurance package. But I want to tell Nigerians that people are insured with their particulars. No head worker in Nigeria as we speak today has been insured with his definite particulars, which is a proviso in the insurance act. You cannot tell me you're taking the insurance for $5,000 and you do arise the insurance for the individual beneficiaries. So these are the challenges we have. We are saying that it is important that government comes to the insurance structure to bring it to tune with that of the government. We are asking that government should pay us the backlog of the 2018 three months salary that they withheld following the industrial action because they have had to pay other workforce. You see the weather deletion with invoking the noble club for nationalization of resident doctors. It is only in Nigeria, and I repeat, it is only in Nigeria that students can ground and collapse. I've been here for more than 50 days now, health services and that is because I've only played into their hands. All right, Mr. Dr. Ifain, I beg your pardon. There's so much obviously that you have to pour out, but unfortunately we're out of time this morning. We would have to very likely reschedule another conversation with you so we can look at the different angles concerning this conversation. And what happens in the next 15 days if the government still fails to follow through with the promises made in the memorandum of understanding? Dr. Ifain, we thank you very much, but we have to continue this conversation another time. Maybe see how it goes for the next 15 days if the government gets in contact with you and what the outcome of this would be. Thank you very much again Dr. Kasmere Ifain for your time and we thank you for joining us this morning on the breakfast. It's a beautiful brand new day Monday the 28th of September and we thank you for starting it with us. I am Annetta Felix and I am Osaugi Ogbonwan. See you tomorrow.