Sacked OAUTH employees shut down hospital in protest

No fewer than 2,000 workers laid off by the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), on Thursday, protested their disengagement.

The management of the Federal Government-owned hospital had employed the workers in 2022. But, following the discovery by the FG that the management and some workers were allegedly involved in job racketeering, the workers were fired through a circular issued on Wednesday.

Disenchanted by the development, the affected workers, on Thursday, shut the hospital gates, chanting various songs to express their dissatisfaction and asking the management to rescind its decision.

During the protest, entry and exit to and from the complex were prevented. The demonstration affected patients and frustrated clinical activities in and around the facility.

A circular, dated 31 January, 2024, addressed to all heads of department and members of staff in the hospital, and signed by the Acting Director of Administration, O. O. Omonije, had selected a few workers while asking others, numbering over 1,500, to cease from parading themselves as staff of the hospital.

The memo, titled: ‘Re: Implementation of The Year 2022 Approved Waiver,’ stated, “You would recall that between 11 and 15 September, 2023, the Fact-Finding Panel from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Abuja, came to our Institution for official investigations on over-employment and job racketeering.

“During the course of their investigations, it was discovered that some people were recruited outside the waiver, among several other irregularities. The Panel also noted that this action was not legitimate and contrary to the Public Service Rules Section 100401 in the Civil Service of the Federation. Therefore, the Panel frowned at it and condemned the act in totality.”

In view of the said findings and in line with the recommendations from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the institution was mandated to clean up the nominal roll and determine the actual number of staff.

The circular further 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.

“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), Health Attendant, Administrative Officer, Accountant, Health Records Officer, Health Records Technologist/Technician, Assistant Catering Officer, Programme/System Analyst, Motor Driver/Mechanic, Assistant Craftsman, Head, Radiology Department, Head, Internal Medicine, Head, Haematology, Head, Chemical Pathology, Head, Micro & Parasitology, Head, Morbid Anatomy, Head, Family Medicine, Head, Anaesthesia, Head, Ortho. & Trauma, Head, Physiotherapy, Head, Occupational Therapy.

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“Head, Accident & Emergency, Head, General Surgery; Head, Surgery (ENT); Head, Surgery, (Ophthalmology); Head, Paediatrics; Head, Mental Health; Head, Dermatology/Venereology; Head, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Head, Restorative Dentistry; Head, Child Dental Health; Head, Preventive & Comm. Dentistry; Head, Obstetrics & Gynaecology; Head, EEG/E.C.G. Unit; Head, I.C.T.; Unit Administrator (IHU); Unit Administrator (WGH, Ilesa); Unit Administrator (UCHC, Eleyele); Unit Administrator (Dental Hospital); Chairman, Virology Research Clinic (IHVN); Head, Legal Unit; Deputy Director, Chemical Pathology; Deputy Director, Haematology; Deputy Director, Micro, & Parasitology; Assistant Director, Histopathology; Head, Security; Head, Pension and Retirement; and Head, NHIA.”

The hospital management advised that any person or group not cited on the list of people being considered for suitability tests, should cease from conducting or parading themselves as staff of OAUTH, lle-Ife.

However, the affected workers kicked and asked the management to rescind its decision, pay their salary arrears and withdraw the allegation that they were involved in job racketeering.

They displayed placards with different inscriptions such as “Say no to injustice”, “Okeniyi must go”, and “Okeniyi, pay our 14 months’ salary,” among others.

One of the affected members of staff, Samson Falope, who spoke with journalists, said most of them were employed from 2022 and their names were on the hospital’s duty roster. He noted that they were fully engaged and have been working since then.

“Officials of the Ministry of Health came to the institution for capture, and we hoped that with that exercise, we would be paid, but nothing happened.

“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 without payment. Our people are suffering, the management should pay us our salary. We will not leave here until we are paid,” he said.

Another affected worker, Imoleayo Olasunboye, said the protesters would not stop the protest unless management met three demands.

“The first is that the memo they sent informing the public of our sack should be withdrawn because we were not employed through the memo. We were duly issued with employment letters and conditions were stated therein.

“The second condition is that the management should pay our salaries. I am being owed 14 months; some are being owed 12 months while some others are owed 15 to 16 months’ salary.

“They should withdraw the allegation that we involved ourselves in job racketeering. This is not true. They advertised job vacancies and we applied; we passed through rigorous employment processes and afterwards, they employed us. So, if they know those who engaged in racketeering, they should point them out and prosecute them. But to lay us off just like that, under the guise of job racketeering, we won’t take it,” he said.

Reacting to the development, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Kemi Fasoto, said that the management was waiting for a directive from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare on steps to take.