Plateau Specialist Hospital Staff To Embark On Strike Over Outrageous Unexplained Deductions From Salaries

Yakubu Busari

The Staff of Plateau Specialist Hospital has raised alarm over indiscriminate cutting of their monthly salaries starting from the month of June to July 2021 with any circular issued to them by the state government.

 

The staff ranging from Doctors, Nurses, Laboratory Technicians, etc. are massively leaving for greener pastures as their take-home can’t buy them food.

 

The information available to this medium revealed that there is an ongoing salary Fraud at Plateau Specialist Hospital Jos as in June most Staff salaries were short with various amounts.  The recent July salaries of a particular staff whose salaries were deducted to the tune of eighteen thousand Naira reported that the rationale behind the deduction has not been made known to them.

 

 

However, the worst is that no circular or memo explains this outrageous deduction has been given spelled another big setback on the Government that has been working hard to see that workers’ salaries are regularly paid.

 

An interview with the Chief Medical Director of Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos, Philemon Golwa disclosed that the current ongoing staff salary for the month of June and July has nothing to do with the management of the hospital but from the office of the Account General of Plateau state were the maneuvering is taking place and we are not aware of the recent development.

 

He debunked the rumours making around that the reduction of the salary emanated from the office of the Chief Medical Director under his supervision, my own salary to is affected.

 

 

Golwa explained further that,” regarding the staff salaries, there have been issues surrounding the salaries generally saying that there is two salaries grade scale that is made for the services of the health sector in Nigeria . One is the CONHESS  which is for the staff of the hospital aside from medical doctors while CONMESS which is for the payment of doctors’ salaries.

 

Dr. Golwa revealed that, that has been settled for the past 10 years before we migrate from the current development which is a completely different grading system that has been the standard they have adopted all over the nation.

 

 

Back to Plateau state, every state has its own peculiarity, it’s the state peculiarity that has negotiated for 85 percent CONHESS  and CONMESS system for the hospital.

 

He further added that they never give 100 percent, which has been agreed upon, which has been used over the years.

 

 

Golwa stressed that this particular deduction is raising a lot of agitation within the affected staff of the hospital, all of a sudden, there was migration to another scale the union was not comfortable with, they brought another scale which he said I  can’t say where it emanated from.

 

 

This scale puts the staff to a lower take-home,  that is what the staff have been complaining about.

 

 

Recently, there has been a lot of agitation, so much that they have put a letter for a strike, we called all the staff to dialogue with them that nothing is impossible.

 

“I was at the ministry of health, we sat with the Head of Service of the state in his office, then,I saw where the problem was and he promised to effect the correction. This August 2021 salary,”

 

“He promised to effect the correction in the month of August salary and we are waiting  to see  that they migrate back to the former CONMESS and CONHESS structure salary scale system.”

 

Dr. Philimon lamented that unfortunately there were a lot of mistakes during the computation of the salaries, as the configuration of the CONMESS and CONHESS system is basically handled by the consultant.

 

 

This, he said, the management begged the staff to be patient, with the consultant who has promised that the correction will be effected with change and that they will be migrating back to the old payment system which is CONHESS, CONMESS system.

 

 

 

Speaking On the challenges of the hospital since coming on board, he said, in fact, our challenges is very enormous, the management has cried out to the government on the shortest of manpower ( staff) challenges, people are going leaving the hospital and no new staff is coming in or recruited.

 

We raised the alarm at the management level, raised a memo to the Government under the leadership of our amiable governor Simon Bako Lalong graciously approved, some staff to be employed as for last year. They have been employed yet we still are running the shortest of

 

 

However, we can’t stop there because people still come in and out, while those billed to retire were not replaced, so we are still having those deficits, we are still waiting to write on those gaps so that we can have that one on one ratio so as to bridge the gap that is one area.

 

 

On the area of physical structure in the Hospital, the hospital is undergoing reconstruction in most of the areas that have been damage that has been done, and when you look around, you will see some buildings with uncompleted structures, these structures were meant to be the main laboratory meant to be 4 or 5-star standard laboratories.

 

 

 

The next structure under construction is the administrative building for the hospital to cater for the next face of the administration of the hospital.

 

 

 

Before now the hospital was having a pending bill in the state House of Assembly, which the governor Barr  Bako Lalong has graciously signed into law in 2019 that will be currently working with, as the completion of these structures will perfect the face of the hospital.

 

 

He added that the hospital is having another structure that is earmarked for the treatment of renal failure center. Now the hospital has gotten the approval from the state governor when putting up a new image department, they would go to install new machines.

 

 

Dr.Golwa said the other structure is meant to accommodate the pediatric unit which the governor has also approved its completion, even the contractor has come to inspect the structure and the management of the hospital has to dialogue with him, as it’s left with the perfecting the mechanism of the completion.

 

 

 

The CMD added that the critical manpower, especially the senior cadre where you have super Specialties are the areas the hospital is still struggling to see if we can have approval and use the opportunity to discuss Special Specialties.

 

 

On the recent Covid-19 pandemic that has made nonsense with the economic, social, and other aspects of the living of people, the CMD said, the hospital has had a lot of challenges, however, said the challenges have been surmounted that everybody is aware of what it’s.

 

“Some people who contracted the disease will come to the hospital, after the conventional treatment, the go back and start administering self-medication which had been one of the major challenges.

 

 

 

He however said that it’s no longer news of the recent outbreak of cholera in the state, a lot of them have been admitted at the hospital facility, the management of the hospital has control and subdued the disease to a very large extent as the hospital boss give the assurance that very soon the government shall erect a new infectious disease building the plans which he said in on the pipeline.

 

 

He said, until that is completed the hospital can now beat its chest with the new machines coming in. “Completing the structures, getting new staff, getting super-specialty I think the hospital is good for an international standard.