Rivers Health Workers Suspend Strike

Primary Health workers in the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, who embarked on a seven-day warning strike have suspended the industrial action barely two days into the strike.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Uriah Etawo disclosed this to The Tide in a telephone interview shortly after a meeting between the board and the Conference of Primary Health Workers in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Dr Etawo said the striking workers have agreed for the board to intervene in the matter following the refusal of the local government councils to pay the agreed 70 per cent consolidated medical salary structure (CONMESS) to the health workers in the local government areas.

Dr Etawo said, we  are going to intervene to make sure that those demands are fulfilled, the thing has been the non-implementation of 70 per cent CONMESS at the local government level. They have agreed that we intervene on their behalf, that’s why they have called off the strike.

The Conference of Primary Health Workers in the 23 local government of the state had earlier commenced a seven-day sit at home industrial action which started last Monday to press home their demand for the payment of the salary structure.

It would be recalled that the body had also staged a boycott of the Maternal and New Born Child Health Week last month but this also lasted only a day before it was called off due to promises of implementation of their demands.

Efforts to reach the chairman of the body, Mr Reuben Nwachenwo have so far proved abortive.

Tonye Nria-Dappa