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Health workers give Fayemi notice of strike over delayed salary, subvention

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Health workers in Ekiti state, on Thursday gave the state government till Sept. 15 to clear their July and August salaries or be prepared for industrial action.

The workers, under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Unions, comprised chapters of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) and state hospitals.

The unions asked the government to release the two months accumulated subventions to the hospital to enable the health institution carry out its responsibilities to both workers and the society.

The aggrieved workers had as early as 7a.m on Thursday converged on the EKSUTH gate, where they displayed placards bearing different inscriptions denouncing government action.

Some of the placards read, “Fayemi pay our salary, “pay health workers retirees their gratuities now”, “Mr Governor, pay our salaries now”, “we need our subvention to prevent Ebola virus disease.”

The Chairman of the union, EKSUTH chapter, Mr Sola Ojo, said it was unfortunate that the government did not respond to a letter written to it a week ago.

He said that the unions had jointly written to the state government demanding the release of the outstanding subvention to the hospital.

He said that, delay in releasing July and August subventions, had impacted negatively on the hospital as it could not neither pay workers’ salaries nor improve working condition of health workers.

Ojo said even the July salary government claimed to have paid could not be accessed in the banks.

“The health sector should be protected, we need protective materials, there is no isolation and diagnostic centres and still the government is owing us salary.

“The government is holding our subvention, the hospital cannot pay salaries. We are not being financed adequately. We were paid last in June, “he said.

While decrying non-availability of isolation centre, he said “if Ebola enters this state today, nobody is safe.

Ojo said that, if the subvention is not paid within the stipulated time, workers in the health sector would go on strike.

He urged the government to pay the gratuity of retired health workers, saying the workers could also go on strike because of that.

In his reaction, the Chief Medical Director of EKSUTH, Dr Kolawole Ogundipe, said the hospital was being owed only August subvention, adding that the workers’ July salary had been paid.

He said, “It is disturbing that just at the first week of Sept. people are protesting non-payment of August salary.

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