Some newly recruited workers at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday, staged a peaceful protest, following the decision of the management to lay them off.
The protesters, who carried placards with the various inscriptions such as, ‘Say no to injustice,’ ‘Okeniyi must go, our salary must be paid,’ ‘Our 14-month salary or nothing else,’ ‘Pay our salary. OAUTHC,’ demanded compensation, having worked for about 14 months before they were disengaged.
The management of the teaching hospital had, in a memo dated January 31, 2024 and by the acting Director of Administration, O. Omonije, retained 68 and laid off about 2,000 staff recruited through alleged job racketeering that took place in the hospital from early 2022 to year 2023.
The memo said the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation approved recruitment of only 450 worker before the racketeering took place.
It listed 68 personnel as those that would participate in the fresh recruitment in compliance with the approval given by the Office of the Head of Service, saying all those recruited outside the approval must stop parading themselves as staff of the hospital.
Displeased with the decision to lay them off, the affected workers stormed the entrance to the hospital in their large numbers. They demanded to be paid for the 14 months that they had worked.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Samson Ogunleye, who was recruited as Higher Executive Officer, said, “I am one of the victims. I was given an appointment letter dated December 27, 2022 and I resumed work on March 7, 2023. I am part of the coordinators of the Association of Unpaid Workers of the OAUTH, Ile-Ife.
“As regards the memo that came out yesterday from the management where they said they don’t need us, that is why we are here today. You can see my people around, we are demanding immediate payment for the work we have done.
“They put us on roasters, they put us on shifts; the management has failed. We paid for medical screening which was N50,000. In fact, there was a committee that was set up from Abuja, which came around for the verification of our certificates. That time, I remember one of my colleagues was unable to get his school certificate. He only had his Statement of Result but they told him that without the certificate, he would not be screened. This man proceeded to his institution and had to pay a huge amount of N60,000 to get his certificate with the hope that he had got a job.
“He (the Chief Medical Director) has failed to address us before now, but today we have also come around to hear from him what he has in mind before issuing the last night memo.”
Efforts to get the hospital management’s reaction failed as calls to the Public Relations Officer of the OAUTH, Kemi Fasooto, rang out, while she had not replied to a text message sent to her by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
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