Bauchi State Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Health Care Professionals JOHESU, has suspended the strike action it has started on Thursday over deductions in salary of its members.
The suspension according to Comrade Usman Danturaki, Secretary of JOHESU in the State followed a resumption of negotiations with the state government aimed at addressing all the bones of contentions.
JOHESU made its position in a joint press briefing addressed by the union in Bauchi alongside Chairman of the Bauchi State Implementation Committee on new salary administration Alh. Umaru Sanda who is also the state’s commissioner of finance.
Danturaki said, “we appreciate the resoluteness, steadfastness, support and resilience of all members of JOHESU during this period of trial”, warning that any attempt by the government to derail on the ongoing terms of negotiations with the union will be matched with stiff resistance.
Danturaki said they embarked on the strike after several efforts to draw the attention of the state government on the salary deductions failed on deaf ears.
The secretary warned that “saboteurs” trying to sabotage the ongoing efforts to resolve the impending issues with the state government will fail.
“Having been convinced with the steps taken by the government prior to the commencement of the strike, coupled with ardent desire to meet our demands, JOHESU have resolved to suspend the strike action with immediate effect so as to pave way for further negotiations to continue on Monday August 10, 2020 where agreement on major issues shall be reached and signed accordingly,” Danturaki said.
The State commissioner of Finance, and Chairman Implementation Committee on new salary administration, Alhaji Umaru Sanda Adamu, said that the biggest challenges of the administration were “over bloated workforce that gulps state revenues.”
He said the state government had embarked on staff auditing and discreet investigation by setting up two Committees to produce a credible payroll system, which he says will help sanitize the State’s payroll.
“The revelations from their findings so far are startling and had confirmed the initial fears of government that indeed , there are serious infractions on government payroll at both the state and local government s with ample evidence of the existence of ghost workers, fraudulent payment allowances to ineligible staff, multiple salary payments,” among others, said Adamu
The commissioner said, “the committee after investigation ,discovered that the 20 per cent CONHESS said to have been removed from entitled workers’ salaries in the month of June 2020 was not done deliberately but was mistakenly removed as at the time of preparation of their payroll,” he said.
“As I speak to you now the payments have commenced and the union’s leadership is fully aware of this development,” the Commissioner argued.
