Lagos- Health workers, under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Meta, on Thursday protested against the non-payment of their promotion arrears since 2013 till date.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the health workers held the protest within the hospital premises.
NAN also reports that the protest replaced the proposed congress scheduled for today where its leadership was expected to have briefed them on the outcome of its meeting with the hospital management.
NAN also reports that the workers had on June 23 embarked on an indefinite strike over many outstanding issues including the non-payment of their 2013/2014 promotion arrears.
They displaced placards with various inscriptions including: “Enough of Intimidation “, “Is It A Sin To Be Lecturers”, Yewande Jinadu,MD must go”, ” Pay us our call duty allowance”, “Why are we not on IPPIS” “Buhari save our souls at FMC, Ebute-Meta”, “High Tariff in government hospital ?“.
Mr Shehu Sulaiman, the Chairman, Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), FMC Ebute Meta chapter, said that the management had refused to give the workers a listening ear.
“We went to the Budget Office in Abuja and we could not trace FMC ,Ebute-Meta staff members on the list of outstanding arrears.
“We had several meetings with our management but they were not successful, we are sure that our management had collected the money.
“Today, our intention was to hold a congress to decide the fate of the strike but our management organised some people among us to disrupt the congress.
“They should have allowed a transparent congress but our management is playing a cat-and-dog relationship with us, we will not accept this.
“We want the management to pay us our arrears because it has the money, we had a meeting with the management on July 13, where it came up with all sorts of threats sue to the union.
“We are being denied of our welfare packages in spite of several consultations we have had with the hospital management.
“We have been marginalised in this hospital for too long; but, we have started the course, we will not relent until the management accedes to our demands,” Sulaimon said.
Also, Mr Julius Achonwa, Chairman of Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria FMC, Ebute Meta branch, said that the management was owing the workers but the most important was the promotional arrears.
He said that management denied that it had collected the money for promotional arrears and call-duty allowances.
“They sent management and the Union teams to the Budget Office ,Abuja to verify the true position of things , but their names are missing.
“There should be a thorough investigation either by the ICPC or the EFCC on this matter.
“The issue is not that we are demanding an ultimatum; but the management should pay the money then we will call off the strike.
Also speaking, Mrs Blessing Israel, the Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), FMC Ebute-Meta chapter, said that a group of people were trying to a play hard game on the union.
“We are not fighting for the health workers alone, we are fighting for the public because the hospital is dying on a regular basis.
“We have poor infrastructures, high tariff of the hospital because our patients are leaving, when they leave, it means we will be redundant.
“I know promotional arrears have been paid by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office, but the management is trying to play a fast game on us.
“If they pay us our arrears, it will motivate us to take care of our patients and we will also give our best to the work.
“I know our able President Muhammed Buhari is against things like this , he should come to our aid.
“These promotion arrears also involve the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Meta’s doctors and they have been supportive because it is a collective struggle,’’ she said.
The calls made to the cell phone numbers of the Medical Director, Mrs Yewande Jinadu, for her comments on the development did not go through.(NAN)
