FUDMA Health Workers Decry Exclusion From New Allowance

FUDMA Health Workers Decry Exclusion From New Allowance

Health workers at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) have expressed concern over their exclusion from receiving the Consolidated NonTeaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) as approved recently by the Federal Government.

The allowance is being paid to members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), both of which the health workers are financial members.

Speaking on the issue, Mannir Yusuf, a staff of Accident and Emergency Unit, expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the health workers from getting the allowance even though they are members of NASU and SSANU who regularly pay their monthly union dues

“We are sincerely not happy with the situation. Sometimes, we are confused about how we are being treated when it comes to our welfare as members of SSANU,” he said.

Yusuf urged the unions to take necessary steps to address the concerns of health workers.

A medical record personnel, Abdullahi Muhammad, said they were concerned about their “uncertain position within the university system.”

According to him, health workers work under universities and are supervised by the Federal Ministry of Education, yet they are often excluded when welfare benefits for university staff are introduced.

“We don’t know where we belong. We are working under the Ministry of Education and not the Ministry of Health, but whenever it comes to benefits, we are isolated,” he said.

Muhammad added that “health workers have continued to pay their union dues and participate in union activities, but some benefits available to other categories of staff are not been extended to them”.

He, however, acknowledged the concern shown by the Vice Chancellor and his commitment to workers’ welfare.

The health workers appealed to the leadership of SSANU and NASU, as well as the University management, to urgently look into the matter and seek a solution, so that all those eligible are fairly considered in the implementation of CONTTA and other staff welfare programmes.

However, the leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) Branch, explained the circumstances surrounding the exclusion of university health workers from the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA).

Comrade Sadiq Hassan Rufai, the Secretary of SSANU said “the issue could be traced to the initial engagement between health workers and representatives of the Federal Government, including officials of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and members of the Federal Government Renegotiation Committee.”

According to him, during the meeting, the concerns of health workers were presented alongside other issues affecting members of SSANU and NASU, with a request that the matter be addressed holistically.

He, however, said the Federal Government Renegotiation Committee declined to include the health workers’ concerns in the negotiations, as there was already an ongoing negotiation specifically addressing health workers.

Comrade Rufai said the committee consequently directed the unions to proceed with presenting their own demands, which, according to him, became the beginning of the current challenge surrounding the non inclusion of university health workers in CONTTA.

He disclosed that SSANU leadership subsequently engaged the Director of Health Services and relevant unit heads to discuss the matter and explore possible ways of addressing the concerns of the affected workers.

He described the situation as “particularly painful”, considering that the Deputy President of SSANU at the national level is himself a medical doctor.

“We have met with the Director of Health and his unit heads to discuss the matter. One painful thing is that the National Deputy President of SSANU is a medical doctor,” he stated.

He said that the University Bursar has assured that the university management would not hesitate to implement any directive issued by the federal government concerning the payment of CONTTA to eligible health workers.

Also, the Medical Director of the University Health Services, Dr. Oyeniyan Abdul-Majeed said the health workers were disappointed by their exclusion as bona fide university employees and members of the respective unions.

According to him, the issue is not peculiar to FUDMA but a national concern affecting health workers in universities across the country.

Dr. Abdul-Majeed disclosed that the issue had been discussed at various union meetings, including the National Executive Council meeting held at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi and a North-West Zonal meeting held in Sokoto, comprising representatives from 16 universities.

He said the zonal meeting resolved that the matter be forwarded to the national leadership of the unions for further consideration and possible resolution.

Dr. Abdul-Majeed expressed hope that the university unions in FUDMA would engage the university management and present the concerns of the health workers.

He noted that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mohammed Khalil Othman has demonstrated willingness to listen to staff and improve their welfare.