Osun: Former Workers Accuse OAUTH Of ‘Labour Exploitation’…Protest Against Decision To Sack Them
A group of young Nigerians, who had for over one year now assumed that they were undergoing probationary period at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun state , staged a protest in Ile-Ife on Thursday.
Over 2,000 among them had their hopes dashed as they were told to forget about becoming staff of the hospital at least for now.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the management team of the hospital had in a memo signed by the Acting Director of Administration O. Omonije which was dated January 31, 2024, submitted that while 68 among them will have the hope of becoming full-time employees of the hospital turning into reality , the remaining 2,000 will have their own ending as a mirage.
It was gathered that the affected people were recruited through an alleged job racketeering that began in early 2022 and continued until 2023.
The controversial memo noted that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation had approved the recruitment of only 450 new employees for the hospital while the 68 lucky people would participate in a fresh recruitment exercise.
The aggrieved former workers on Thursday staged a protest in Ile-Ife and carried placards with various inscriptions that include ‘Say no to injustice’, ‘Okeniyi must go’, ‘Our salary must be paid’, ‘Our 14-month salary or nothing else’ and ‘Pay our salary OAUTHC’,.
They have accused the management team of ‘labour exploitation’ and demanded that even if they would have to leave, they should at least be paid for the months they had spent as workers at the hospital carrying out duties.
‘I am one of the victims. I was given an appointment letter dated December 27, 2022, and I resumed work on March 7, 2023. I am one of the coordinators of the Association of Unpaid Workers of OAUTHC, Ile-Ife.
As regard the memo that came out yesterday from the management team where they said they don’t need us, that is why we are here today. You can see my people around, we are demanding immediate payment for the work we have done. They put us on the roaster, they put us on shift.
The management team has failed. We paid for medical screening which is N50,000. In fact, there was a committee that was set up from Abuja that came around for verification of our certificates. That time, I remember that one of my colleagues was unable to get his school certificate.
He only had a Statement of Result with him but they told him that without the certificate, he wouldn’t be screened. This man proceeded to his institution and had to pay a huge amount of N60,000 to get his certificate with the hope that he had gotten a job.
He (the Chief Medical Director) has failed to address us before now, but today we have also come around to hear from him what he has in mind before issuing the last night memo’ one of the affected former workers, Samson Ogunleye, submitted.
‘We were made to feel that we were on probationary period and we did everything that we ought to do. I even rented an apartment in Ile-Ife because Iam not an indigene of Osun state and I still had to visit my family in a North Central state every weekend , imagine what I had committed in terms of energy, time and resources.
It is unfair , if you cannot help me, you must not at least worsen my case, pay us for the months that we were carrying out duties like the old staff’ one of the affected former workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said-Team@orientactualmags.com
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