OAUTHC workers shut down hospital, protest sack of staff, non payment of salaries

Hundreds of workers laid off by the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) on Thursday stormed the hospital in protest of their sack.

The protesters also demanded for their 14-month withheld salary.

It would be recalled that no fewer than 1,500 employees of the hospital were asked to desist from coming to work that their appointment was illegal.

The management of the Federal Government owned hospital had employed the workers in 2022 but following discovery by the Federal Government that the management and some workers were involved in job racketeering, the workers were fired.

Angered by the development, the affected workers besieged the hospital gates on Thursday morning, chanting songs to drive home their dissatisfaction, asking the management to rescind their decision.

Immediately the protesters arrived the main gate, it was shut and workers resuming were disallowed to gain entry.

The protesters who carried placard with different inscriptions, “Say no to injustice”, “Okeniyi must go”, “Okeniyi pay our 14-month salary”, Our demand is clear: pay our 14- month salary”, “You are such a wicked man”.

The employees, during the protest, lamented that they had resorted to begging to feed their families due to the hardship the non-payment of salaries subjected them to.

One of the protesting workers who identified himself simply as Seun decried that he had become incapable of feeding his family because of the non-payment of his salary since he joined the service of the OAUTH on December 13, 2022.

Also, another protester, Ogunleye said that they were employed with their letter of appointment and that they have worked for 14 and 15 months respectively, adding that committee were sent from Abuja that came twice for screening of their certificate

He urged Federal Government and hospital management to pay them their salaries.