Lagos -Health workers at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), have decried the insensitivity of the management to their welfare.
They have also decried the uncomfortable working condition of health workers in the hospital.
The Chairman of JOHESU, Mr Uzondu Eke, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the lack of clean water and supplies such as cotton wool, disinfectants and writing materials was making it uncomfortable for health workers to give their best in the treatment of patients.
“People (workers) want to resume work, they want to come back, but they (management) should be able to pay them something.
“We are really sorry for this action, but we had to do it, because if the workers are not comfortable, they will not deliver the best to the patients.
“And, if the environment is not comfortable for the patients, the patients will not recover on time.“
Eke also expressed dismay at the dilapidated condition of the hospital build as “the roofs are leaking, the windows are bad, and the doors are bad.
“In the toilets the taps are not running. When you treat a patient in such an uncomfortable environment, that patient will not get the best and it will frustrate the work of the medical team.“
The chairman of the union said that the workers’ demands were aimed at improving their welfare and working conditions and had nothing to do with money.
In his reaction, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Rahman Lawal, described as untrue the workers’ allegations, saying that the hospital management had always prioritised workers’ welfare.
“I have improved on the light (electricity) situation in the hospital considerably, since I resumed four years ago.
“There has always been water in the hospital from government source. We have boreholes everywhere to complement water supply from the government.
“The government circular says that if you are promoted this year for financial purposes it takes effect from January. So, they were not paid in that 2013, January to December, but this has not yet been paid.
“The same thing with 2014 for those who were promoted in 2013; their arrears for one year have not yet been paid.
“Government recognises this; the hospital does not denying it; they have taken their case to the level of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, and he said he was going to pay.
“Even this government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to do something about it and I think he has done something about it.“
NAN reports that JOHESU had, since June 1, embarked on an indefinite strike demanding the full payment of their outstanding promotion arrears for 2011 to 2014.
The indefinite strike was to also press for improvement of their welfare and working conditions.
The other unions that make up JOHESU include Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals; Medical and Health Workers Union; and the Nigerian Midwifery and Nursing Association of Nigeria. (NAN)
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