The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), NAFDAC Branch, has vowed to maintain their strike indefinitely until their demands are met.
The workers began their strike on October 7, calling for the review of the 2024 promotion examinations and the payment of statutory arrears and benefits to employees hired in 2022.
Adetoboye Ayodeji, chairman of the Kaduna chapter, stated on Saturday that it was up to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) management to initiate negotiations.
He stressed the need for “actionable evidence” that their concerns would be addressed.
The union has expressed frustration over delays in fulfilling agreements made in 2022 with the government and NAFDAC management.
The agreements were intended to resolve issues surrounding the workers’ conditions of service, but none have been implemented.
“Allowances that were supposed to be approved by December 2022 have still not been approved, and the conditions of service remain unapproved,” Ayodeji lamented.
He explained that the union had sent numerous letters to NAFDAC’s management outlining these concerns, but received no adequate response.
Ayodeji also claimed that in 2024, the agency conducted promotion examinations, yet many staff members who passed were not promoted. He said the management attributed this to a lack of vacancies.
“However, at the same time, the management was recruiting outsiders for the very positions they claimed were vacant, while staff members rising through the ranks were not promoted,” he alleged.
Ayodeji expressed frustration, noting that out of over 700 staff who sat for the promotion exams, fewer than 220 were promoted.
“Only 36 percent of the participants were promoted. We said no, this cannot stand. They must promote at least 80 percent of those who participated,” he stated.
“We rejected the entire promotion process and demanded that more staff be promoted. How can there be motivation in an agency where only 36 percent of staff get promoted? This will have a devastating effect on morale, ultimately impacting the health of 200 million Nigerians,” he added.
Ayodeji further emphasised that the ongoing strike was also in response to long-standing issues with allowances in staff salaries, which had persisted for over 20 years.
Despite writing to NAFDAC management and issuing a two-week notice before the strike, no explanation or resolution was provided.
In response, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC’s Director-General, had denied all the allegations in a statement issued on Monday.
She insisted that the agency had been following the rules regarding the payment of arrears and estacodes, and reaffirmed its commitment to workers’ welfare.
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