Health workers in Cross River State have threatened to commence an indefinite strike after the expiration of its seven -day ultimatum, beginning from today, May 14, 2025.
This follows the 7-day ultimatum issued by the Joint Action Committee of Health Sector Unions in the state on May 9, and jointly signed on May 13, by the heads of health unions in the state.
The aggrieved unions are the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
Others include the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP).
The notice of the 7-day ultimatum addressed to the state Governor, Bassey Otu, disclosed that the government is yet to act on an offer of payment of 15 percent of the differential between the current salary structure and the 2024 reviewed salary structure demanded by the unions.
The unions on behalf of workers in the health sector of Cross River State, regretted that the status quo shows that the state government has reneged on the agreement and they feel betrayed and disappointed despite having acted in good faith for the interest of the state.
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They said that unions in the health sector have decided to go ahead with the industrial action and ”do hereby jointly issue a seven- day ultimatum beginning from Wednesday, 14th May, 2025.
“If there is no change in the status quo by the expiration of this ultimatum, then we will be left with the unavoidable and regrettable option of embarking on an indefinite strike.”
Leaders of the unions demanded that the agreement be implemented with effect from April 2025 as reflected in the committee’s report.
However, they expressed the hope that the state government will deploy diligence in resolving the issues at stake to avoid an indefinite shutdown of the health sector in the coming weeks.