Nurses tackle Akeredolu over unpaid salaries

TRACKING___Nurses at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo State yesterday issued a oneweek ultimatum to the state government over five months’ outstanding salaries. The nurses, who protested on the Akure premises of the hospital, stated that their actions became imperative after failure by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led government to yield to their repeated demands despite several meetings. The protesting nurses, who were armed with placards of different inscriptions, said they would embark on an indefinite strike after the expiration of the ultimatum.

Some of the placard inscriptions read “we say no to intimidation and oppression.” “Our lives matter.” “Salary should not be a privilege.” “A worker deserves to be paid.” “We have been fighting COVID-19 on empty stomach.” “Mr. Governor have mercy on us,” among others. According to the aggrieved nurses, they were also demanding regularisation of their slashed salaries as well as provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), stressing that the action by the state government over the refusal to pay their salaries ranging between four and five months had turned them to beggars. They said: “Starting from June 2019, some nurses were employed in batches with different months at the facility as the existing shortage of members of staff brought about the urgent employment of nurses.

“Following the employment, the newly employed nurses saw themselves working for 6 months, 5 months, 4 months and 3 months depending on the batch of employment they belonged to without being paid. “Shortly after, the salaries started being paid haphazardly with a month salary paid after every 2-3 months, so many nurses had to start borrowing to even get to work and meet up with other needs. “As it stands presently, 4-5 months salaries are still being owed without any hope of being paid.

“All efforts to demand our salaries were sabotaged. Worthy of note is that a good number of us tested positive for COVID- 19 despite not being renumerated. “Asides these, the single and double qualified nurses in the same institution experienced massive salary slashes earlier this year.”