There is no end in sight yet to the industrial strike embarked upon by members of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) chapter of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN).
This was because a negotiation meeting held in Abuja, last Friday, between the MHWUN executives and Management of the NAFDAC aimed at ending strike ended up in a deadlock.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Moji Adeyeye, led other members of the Management, including Mr. Oboli Augustine (Director Of Admin), Mr. Ayanwande Olusegun (Director Of Finance) and Mr. Ololade (Personal Assistant to the DG), to the failed meeting.
The MHWUN leaders present at the meeting were Adetula Sunday (National Vice President, South-West), Enwen (Deputy General Secretary), Adetoboye Ayodeji of Federal Area Council (MHWUN chairman, NAFDAC chapter), Makeri Jerry Chagga, Lynda Awoju, Aledech, Annabel Onuoah and Chinomso Okoroama.
Workers in NAFDAC embarked on an indefinite strike action due to the failure of the Management to implement the agreements reached between the two parties in 2022 on workers’ welfare, especially as it related to various benefits.
Members of the MHWUN, NAFDAC chapter, had, in 2022, agreed to shift ground on the basis of some agreements reached with the NAFDAC Management.
Parts of the agreements signed in 2022 included the payment of 2021 promotion arrears. It was agreed then that it should be paid by September 2022;
It was agreed that the balance of the 20 per cent of hazards allowances be paid to all staff immediately before the strike can be suspended;
That a special committee, involving the Federal Ministry of Health and consisting three members each from all the parties should be formed with the aims of securing and approving allowances on hazards, productivity and conditions of service among others;
It was agreed that a special committee be set up to pursue befitting salaries (CONSSNAFDAC), already domiciled with NSIWC;
That the special committee should give progress reports to the Minster of State for Health within four weeks from the day the agreement was signed;
That all regulatory officers must invite for foreign cGMP basic training and equal scheduled for cGMP inspection/audit using the nominal roll;
That the vacancies be expanded for the 2022 promotion exercise across the board to have an optimum reduction in tension and guarantee industrial harmony in NAFDAC;
That non-regulatory officers should also be considered for training in their respective scopes of works;
That on no account should any work be intimidated, penalised or victimised for taking part in the industrial action;
That the strike be suspended immediately after the agreement has been signed and 20 per cent balance of hazard allowance has been paid to all staff;
That a breach of any part of these agreements will lead to resumption of the suspended strike action by the union.
An argument ensued at the negotiation meeting, held last Friday, when the MHWUN leaders asked the NAFDAC DG, Professor Adeyeye, to direct members of a parallel union to leave the hall as they were not supposed to be part of the meeting.
The parallel union, called the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies( SSASCGOC), was said to have being formed within the Agency.
The argument lasted for some minutes before the DG succumbed to the pressure by the MHWUN executives and she eventually directed members of the parallel union to leave the venue of the meeting.
Meanwhile, the negotiation meeting was said to have ended in a deadlock as the NAFDAC Management was allegedly not specific on when it will start the implementation of 2022 agreements.
This was as the MHWUN, on the other hand, insisted that workers have run out of patience, accusing the NAFDAC Management of being insensitive to the plight of the workers.
The MHWUN leader, Comrade Sunday Adetula, while speaking with journalists, said: “The meeting ended in deadlock because NAFDAC Management dribbled us all through. They kept promising no time frame to implement the agreements we signed since 2022.
“We were trying to convince the Management just to be specific on the actual dates and months it will start the implementation. But no specific date or months were mentioned throughout the two-day negotiation meeting. In short, they could not convince us the time they will start the implementation.
“Apart from the 2022 Agreement issue, new issues bothering on unjustified promotion practices is also generating acrimony within the Agency.
“How do we reconcile a situation where only about 36 per cent of members of staff were promoted, while others that passed the same promotion examination were denied promotion with the flimsy excuse that there are no available vacancies to accommodate others?
“Such lame excuses would not be accepted by the Union leadership, knowing fully well that promotion is a great motivational factor that can boast staff morale.
“The Management is being economical with the truth because where the Management said there was no vacancy for staff to rise through the ranks, they were still recruiting new staff to fill up those vacancies which is against the public service rules.”
Adetula concluded by declaring that the ongoing industrial action embarked upon last week by the MHWUN workers at NAFDAC will continue until the Management is ready for another dialogue that will end the strike.
