“We have made repeated follow-ups and engaged the government up to August, but without any positive outcome. While CONMESS was approved for doctors, CONHESS for nurses has been ignored,” he said.
The Zamfara State chapter of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives (NANM) has embarked on a six-day warning strike across state-owned general hospitals, accusing the government of neglecting their welfare demands.
The Union chairman, Sani Shehu, said the strike became necessary after the state government failed to implement the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) despite approving a new salary package for doctors under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) in June.
Shehu explained that several attempts to engage the government since June had not yielded results.
“We have made repeated follow-ups and engaged the government up to August, but without any positive outcome. While CONMESS was approved for doctors, CONHESS for nurses has been ignored,” he said.
The warning strike, which began Saturday, will run until next Tuesday.
This is not the first industrial action by the union this month. On September 11, NANM declared a seven-day warning strike but suspended it after just 24 hours following government intervention.
Shehu said the union had now resumed the action to complete the remaining six days.
The union leader warned that if the government fails to meet their demands after the warning strike, the association will have no option but to embark on an indefinite strike, potentially crippling healthcare delivery across the state.
