NAFDAC workers vow to continue strike

T The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control branch, has vowed to continue its ongoing strike action till their demands are met.

In an interview with NAN on Saturday in Kaduna, the Chairman of the Chapter, Adetoboye Ayodeji, said it was left for the agency’s management to call the union for negotiation in order to see actionable evidence that things would be done appropriately.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that workers of the agency began an indefinite strike on October 7, to demand the review of the 2024 promotion examinations.

The strike was also to address the allegations that the majority of the staff were not promoted as a result of the purported “vacancy slot” from the Head of Service, even when they all qualified to be promoted.

Ayodeji also claimed that some statutory arrears and other benefits were not paid to some of the staff employed by the agency in 2022.

He explained that the union had earlier signed an agreement with the government and NAFDAC management in 2022 bordering on the workers condition of service which ought to have been finalised.

“The issues in the agreement were supposed to be settled in December 2022 but to date, none of the agreements have been complied with.

“Allowances that are supposed to be approved on or before December 2022 have not been approved, the condition of service could not be approved,” he lamented.

Ayodeji said the union had written several letters to the NAFDAC management regarding the concerns without adequate response.

He also alleged that in 2024, the agency did promotion examinations with many of the staff who passed the examinations not promoted.

He added that the management’s claim was due to a lack of vacancies.

“Unfortunately the management was recruiting at the same time into the positions that they claim there was no vacancy while those that are rising through the ranks are not promoted, outsiders are brought to occupy the positions,” he alleged.

Ayodeji wondered why not up to 220 staff were promoted in the examinations that were written by over 700 staff.

“Only 36 per cent of participants in the examinations were promoted, we, therefore, said no, it is never possible.

“They cannot promote less than 80 per cent of the participants.

“We rejected the entire promotion exercise and asked that more staff be promoted. There can never be motivation in an agency where 36 per cent of staff are only promoted.

“It will have a devastating effect on the staff morale thereby affecting the health of the 200 million Nigerians,” he said.

Speaking further, the chairman said part of the reason for their strike action was an issue of allowances in the staff salaries that had lingered for over 20 years.

Ayodeji said the union had written to the NAFDAC management but no reason or explanation was given and even issued a two-week notice before the strike but no response.

NAN reports that NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement issued to NAN on Monday, denied all the claims.

She claimed that the agency had been following the rules on payment of arrears and estacode, and reiterated its commitment to promoting the workers’ welfare.