Health workers shut EKSUTH over unpaid salaries, minimum wage, others

Medical workers yesterday shut Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado Ekiti, while protesting unpaid emoluments by the management.

The staff, under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), had gathered at the main gate of the hospital in Adebayo area from 8am and prevented other workers from going in.

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 Addressing the workers, the branch chairman, Omotola Farotimi, accused the state government of not paying their salary arrears, remitting N1.6bn cooperative deductions, non-implementation of minimum wage and unpaid leave bonuses.

 “When this government came in 2018, the aggregate of the outstanding deductions was a sum of N500 million. But now, it has swelled to as much as N1.6bn.

 “Another issue that has been agitating our minds is the minimum wage. It has been implemented for workers at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti. Even in Ekiti State, all health workers are being paid except our members.

 “In the last meeting held by the hospital’s board, it approved the payment of minimum wage for us, yet nothing has been done up to now. We can no longer wait and begin to suffer in silence. We must cry to the government,” Farotimi said.

Reacting, the EKSUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Kayode Olabanji, said the management met with JOHESU last week Thursday and reassured them of their commitment to accede to their requests.

 Olabanji added that a letter of assurance dated August 19 had been given to JOHESU leadership, thereby reinforcing the management’s commitment to ensuring that all the backlog of emoluments would be paid.

“There is nothing we do in secrecy in this hospital. It is agreed that there was an approved minimum wage for workers. But the questions are; was it cash backed? Or was there money meant for payment that we stashed in one account?

“We really sympathise with them, but I think we have given them enough assurance that we will pay. We are still going to hold another meeting this week to iron all these issues out,” he said.