FCT Strike: Patients Stranded As Health Facilities Shut Down

Patients at primary healthcare centres and  general hospitals at the Federal Capital Territory’s area councils were stranded yesterday as workers there joined the ongoing strike by the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC).

The JUAC had, last Monday, declared an indefinite strike over what it described as the FCTA’s “breach of trust,” “inaction” and the “deliberate demoralisation” of the workforce through a litany of unresolved grievances.

Primary and secondary schools in the six area councils as well as agencies such as the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), the FCT Water Board, among others, have also remained shut since the strike commenced.

Our reporters saw patients wait for hours at various general hospitals on Wednesday, with no staff on duty.

“I came this morning for a medical checkup, only to learn the workers are on strike. I now have to go back home and look for an alternative,” said Mrs Grace Yohana, a patient at the Naharati Comprehensive Health Centre at Abaji.

Mr Ibrahim Saleh, another patient, expressed similar frustration: “I came to get a prescription, but I was surprised to find no one here. I was told the workers are on strike. It is a difficult situation for those of us who cannot afford private care.”

Residents of Kwaku community at Kuje and Yebu in Kwali said they not have to travel long distances to the city centre to access treatment at expensive private hospitals.

JUAC appeals court ruling

Meanwhile,the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) yesterday filed an appeal against the National Industrial Court’s ruling that ordered an immediate return to work.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had sued the union leadership, contending that the strike did not comply with the Trade Disputes Act and alleging that JUAC—led by President Rifkatu Iortyer and Secretary Abdullahi Saleh—is not a registered trade union.

Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel Subilim had ordered workers to call off the strike to prevent the total paralysis of government business. While the judge acknowledged that striking is a right, he ruled it is not absolute, citing Section 18(1)(b) of the Trade Dispute Act, which prohibits industrial action once a dispute has been referred to the Industrial Court.

Following the ruling, Wike had warned of “consequences” for any staff failing to resume. However, the workers, represented by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, have now moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge the directive.

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had counter-directed all Abuja-based affiliate unions to “reinforce, intensify and sustain” the strike.

In a circular signed by NLC president Joe Ajaero and Acting Secretary Benson Upah, the Congress cited “continued neglect of workers’ welfare and persistent intimidation” as reasons to ignore the court mandate.

The NLC urged members to participate in daily “Solidarity Sessions” from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at designated venues, warning that “any retreat at this stage will only embolden further violations.”

Some of the workers, who reported for duties at the FCTA Secretariat yesterday, told Daily Trust that they did so out of fear.

FCT minister’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka,said: “People are already working; we are resuming. The truth of the matter is that most of the workers were not in support of the strike action,” Olayinka said. “That was the reason the union leaders had to barricade the gates and force people to comply. When people are genuinely aggrieved, you don’t need to force them.” (Daily trust)