Workers of the Ondo state-owned University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital have staged a peaceful protest to demand payment of their salary arrears between 2018 and 2020.
The workers blocked the entrance to the hospital as early as 7:30 am with placards and chanted solidarity songs.
They said it was wrong for the hospital management to pay doctors arrears owed and excluded other categories of staff.
A medical scientist, Oluwafemi Akinboboye, said the protest was to demand payment of the money owed to all categories of staff.
He said: “We have nurses, accountants, pharmacists,.laboratory staff here protesting the non-payment of arrears. Some are owed as much as 13 months arrears.
“Our leaders met with the former CMD, Dr. Ige but the management only paid the doctors and left other categories of staff. We wrote letters to them but nothing was done. They didn’t answer us. We are pleading with the state government to come and assist us with the payment. All categories of staff are affected. The only people not here are the doctors. The payment is long overdue.”
Another protester, Olatunde Oluwafemi, said many affected staff have resigned due to inability to cope with non-payment of salary.
He said: “We want them to pay us our salary arrears. It is bad to be owing somebody arrears for nine months. Many people have left the job because they could no longer feed their families.”
A nurse at the hospital, Oriole Joy, said she joined in the protest because she was owed two months arrears
“This is not the first time for us to protest. We are not fighting the management but asking the government to come and assist with the payment.”
Acting medical director of the hospital, Olumide Micheal Gbala, said it would be difficult to borrow money to pay all the salary arrears.
Gbala assured that his administration would gradually pay the arrears and pledged not to victimise any staff that joined in the protest.
He noted: “You will see the sincerity in me. I am concerned about staff welfare which was why I increased the salary of security personnel by N20,000.
“We will engage everybody. It is only when staff are happy I can succeed. I feel your pain and I need your support.”
