Workers resume at Yaba Psychiatric Hospital

Health workers at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, are gradually returning to work as the umbrella body of the workers, Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) suspends its 10-day-old strike.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union agreed to suspend the strike following the conciliatory meeting at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment on Sept. 30 in Abuja.

However, only a few patients were seen at the out-patient department.

The hospital’s JOHESU Chairman, Mr Uzondu Eke, said that the workers held their congress and had resumed work.

“The strike has been suspended and we are back to work.

“We are already attending to the patients who are government owned as they have no relations.“Patients who come to the hospital at this time will be received,’’ he said.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Oluyemisi Ogun, said that patients would receive better care.“Normal activities will resume and the patients will be better taken care of,’’ she said.

It would be recalled that JOHESU had embarked on an indefinite strike on Sept. 20 over non-implementation of agreement reached with the Federal Government.

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The union’s demands include adjustment of CONHESS salary as done for CONMESS since 2014, and abolition of scale to scale promotion, payment of outstanding arrears of promotion, skipping and relativity.

Others are autonomy of Teaching and Specialist Hospitals, non-implementation of court judgments, review of retirement age from 60-65 years as done for the tertiary education sector.