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Kano – His Lordship, Hon. Justice E. D. Isele of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Kano, on Thursday 30th January 2019 in a judgment dismissed suit filed by Sule Muhammad & 82 Ors (claimant) against Jigawa State Govt and Anor (Defendant) for lacking merit.
This is a judgment pursuant to an originating summons filed by the Claimant against Defendants among others Whether the rights of health workers sequel and by virtue of non continuous implementation of Jigawa State circular approving CONHENS to health workers by the Defendants, the right of health workers affected by the new policy are infringed upon. Whether Jigawa State Government can limit the implementation of its circular which is still valid and subsist to a category of health worker i.e. Health worker on GL7 downward.
The plaintiffs also prayed among others for AN ORDER directing the Defendants to continue to implement the payment of the plaintiffs’ salary in accordance with the CONHENS as approved by it. AN ORDER directing the Defendants to pay all accumulated arrears in favour of the plaintiffs from the date when the implementation of CONHES salary structure was suspended by the Defendants.
Likewise, A PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants from any further acts that will tantamount to non-implementation of CONHES salary structure in favour of the plaintiffs.
The Deponent averred that the Claimants had for years been working with the 1st Defendants as health workers in various units of the ministry of health, Jigawa State and that sometime in the year 2009 the salary structure of health workers nationwide was restructured by the Federal Government that the 1st Defendant equally adopted and implemented the said Federal Government circular to its health workers. And the Claimants together with others continued to enjoy the new salary structure called CONHESS for some years until the 1st Defendant stepped the full implementation of the circular.
That their complaints had been to no avail that they were directed to the office of the Head of Civil Service to issue a letter of a purported pooling system that all Claimants not mentioned in this case be posted to various ministries outside the ministry of health so as to deprive the Claimants from enjoying the fruit of the approved salary structure.
In response, the Defendants averred that sometime in the year 2016, the Jigawa State Government through its Ministry of health constituted a committee to update the number of staffs in the ministry and to study and review where necessary some allowances earned by underserved staff in the ministry and its Agencies and the Committee found out that interalia the respective names of the Claimants, not being health workers and professional were earning CONHESS special allowance.
That said circular was neither addressed to any official of the Defendant nor to any state of the federation that at no time did the 1st Defendant adopt and implement the Federal Government’s circular regarding the salary structure of Health workers that the 1st Defendant being an autonomous entity separate from the Federal Government initiated and implemented its new salary of CONMESS and CONHESS for Health workers, urged the court to dismisses the suit.
After careful evaluation of all the processes filed, and the submissions of the learned Counsel from both sides. The Court presided by Hon. Justice E. D. Isele expressed thus;
“I must state right away that I am in agreement with the submission of the Defendants in response to the Claimants submissions on contracts and obligations created.
“I am in agreement with the Defendant’s response that the Claimants failed woefully to show that they are health workers. And their affidavits in support do not have any annexure therein indicating that they are health workers or health professionals.
“In essence, I hold that the Claimants suit is entirely not established against the Defendant and it is hereby dismissed. There are no awards as to costs. Parties to bear their own costs.”
