The Association of unpaid Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) workers, on Thursday, in Ile-Ife, staged a peaceful protest demanding their 14-months withheld salaries.
The Coordinator of the group, Mr. Samson Falope, said that the protest basically kicked against the circular released by the management on Wednesday night, that their appointment was illegal.
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions such as: “Say no to injustice”, “Okeniyi must go”, “Okeniyi pay our 14-months salary”, “Our demand is clear: pay our 14- month salary” and “You are such a wicked man”.
Falope said that some of them were employed since 2022 and their names were on the institutions duty roaster working day and night, fully engaged without being paid.
“We tried our efforts to ensure that the salaries were paid but the management turned a deaf ear to it. People worked but were not being paid.
“The Ministry of Health officials came to the institution for capturing, hoping that we would be paid but nothing of such happened”, he lamented.
According to him, the present administration came up with a circular of sacking us which is not acceptable to us. Our demand is that we have rejected in its entirety the decision of the Okeniyi led administration.
“We have not seen any circular emanating from the Federal Ministry of Health that indicated our sacking. Our salary is overdue and we have worked for about 14 to 15 months of unpaid salary.
“Our people are suffering, the management should pay us our salary. We will not leave here if our salary is not paid.
“The circular released by the hospital management on Wednesday is nothing but economical with the truth. We are calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the management to pay our salary before the institution is made ungovernable for them,” he reaffirmed.
One of the aggrieved persons, Samson Ogunleye, appointed Higher Executive Officer, said that they did not come to damage property or cause any violence but to protest peacefully to demand the payment of their salaries.
Ogunleye added that people were employed with letters of appointment and had worked for between 14 and 15 months, and urged the federal government and hospital management to pay them their salaries.
According to him, they paid medical fee of N50,000 and there was a committee sent from Abuja that came twice for screening of their certificates.
He stated that they wrote to the Ministry of Health which promised they were coming and gave them 10 days ultimatum that lapsed last week.
“And we got a letter signed by the Acting Director of Administration, Mr. O.O. Omonije through the CMD, Prof. John Okeniyi, that those that were recruited since 2022, their job remain illegal.
“The release read: in order to comply with the June 2022 waiver as directed, only the categories of staff cited in the June, 2022 approved waiver from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation as listed below would be considered for rigorous suitability test for employment with these cadres.
The cadres for test are hospital Consultant, Registrar, Medical Officer, Pharmacist, Nursing Officer, Radiographer, Medical Laboratory Scientist, Physiotherapist, Dietician, Dental Technologist, Medical Laboratory Technologist/Technician, Assistant Technical Officer (Electrical and Biomedical) among others
Others are: Health Attendant, Administrative Officer, Accountant, Health Records Officer, Health Records Technologist/Technician, Assistant Catering Officer, Programme/System Analyst, Motor Driver/Mechanic, Assistant Craftsman.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Miss Kemi Fasoto, said that the management is waiting for the directive of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare on the issue
