Residents Doctors of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospitals, from Ondo and Akure complexes in Ondo State, on Friday, protested over their unpaid salaries and allowances.
The aggrieved medical doctors who were armed with placard of various inscriptions such as We Are Asking For What We Have Worked For”, ” We Work On Empty Stomach Not Knowing When Next Will Come,” “A Hungry Doctor Is A Danger To The Society”, threatened not to embark on indefinite strike over unpaid salaries.
The angry doctors who converged on Akure, the state capital as early as 9:00 am alleged the state government of insensitivity towards their plight, vowing not to return to their duty post until the state government do the needful.
Speaking, the Chairman, Media Committee, Association of Resident Doctors, UNIMEDTHC, Dr Taiwo Olagbe, explained that the doctors are being owed between three to six months depending on when they joined the service of the hospital.
He said they had to embark on the protest after a series of representations to the management and a protest to the Governor’s Office on December 23, 2019, which yielded no positive result.
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According to him, all promises made by the Special Adviser to the governor on Health Matters and the Secretary to the State Government(SSG), Ifedayo Abegunde were not fulfilled.
The doctors also alleged the management of the hospital of divide and rule strategy, and said: “the management selected 33 out of over 150 doctors and paid them untagged one month, and the rest have nothing to give to their families for the Yuletide.”
The protesting doctors, however, resolved that “all our arrears and backlog of salaries be cleared with immediate effect; the issue of our welfare should be addressed and concerted action is taken; that our wages and remuneration be paid directly into our accounts,
“We don’t want intermediary; that our strike has commenced at 12 midnight is total and indefinite till all our agitations are resolved, that we are against any form of victimization during and after the strike, if any of such happens, we will not hesitate to call out our members.”
They appealed to the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu and all other meaningful Nigerians to prevail on the management of the teaching hospital to pay their salaries.
However, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro assured the doctors would start to receive an alert from Monday next week.
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