CDWR Demands Reversal Of Sack Of OAUTHC Workers

The Campaign for Democracy and Workers’ Rights (CDWR), Osun State chapter, has called for the reinstatement of 1,500 workers of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, who were sacked by the management of the hospital.

CDWR, in a statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, condemned the dismissal of the workers, describing it as inhumane, arbitrary, and unjust.

The 1,500 workers were sacked on the ground that they were employed through racketeering in the hospital between 2022 and 2023.

The management hinged the decision to lay off the health workers on an alleged breach of Section 100401 of the Public Service Rules.

But the CDWR questioned the supervisory capacity of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and why it took a whole year to unravel this ‘mystery’.

Signed by its Coordinator and Secretary, Mr. Alfred Adegoke, and Comr. Kola Ibrahim respectively, the statement reads in part: “We condemn in absolute terms, the sack of hundreds of staff of the OAUTH, Ile-Ife by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collusion with the management of the hospital.

“We demand immediate reversal of the mass sack and immediate payment of all outstanding salaries.

“This mass sack is not only inhumane but also arbitrary and unjust. The affected staff were employed in December 2022, having passed through a series of employment procedures. Since then, they were not paid salaries for a whole year, despite working for the institution, something which is contrary to the extant labour law of the country.

“But the same ministry that looked the other way when these workers were not paid for the work they were doing, suddenly realised that there was wrongful employment.

“According to the report of the investigation conducted by the ministry over the employment process, the former Chief Medical Director, Prof. Owojuyigbe, employed more than 1900 staff above the 450 approved by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.

“As much as we would not support official malfeasance and fraud, we question the supervisory capacity of the ministry under whose nose such act was carried out, such that it took the ministry a whole year to unravel this ‘mystery’.

“Worse still, why should it be workers, who have no say in the whole process, and who have been economically incapacitated for a whole year due to non-payment of salaries, who will now suffer for the deeds of the OAUTH management and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

“Furthermore, we contend that the government needs to look at the social implication of sacking over 1,500 staff, who have been carrying out their respective jobs, albeit without pay for a whole year, especially in this period of government-instigated accentuated mass suffering.

“This mass sack is also coming especially at a dire period when the health sector is suffering from a massive brain drain as qualified doctors and health professionals relocate en masse in pursuit of greener pastures.

“This sack is completely unacceptable and shows the disconnection of Nigeria’s ruling elite, who do not rely on public health facilities, from the reality confronting society.”