Industrial unrest is looming at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, as nurses and midwives have handed management a 15-day ultimatum over what they describe as years of neglect and unfair treatment.
The workers, under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), LAUTECH Teaching Hospital chapter, accused management of excluding them from benefits already being enjoyed by their counterparts in other state-owned health facilities.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday, jointly signed by the Unit Chairman, Ojewumi Olutayo, and the Unit Secretary, Adedokun Foluwake, the association said their demands had been ignored for too long despite repeated appeals.
The grievances include non-implementation of the new national minimum wage, delayed payment of COVID-19 allowances, non-payment of enhanced hazard allowances, and failure to pay promotion arrears dating back as far as 2018.
The association also raised alarm over staff shortages, demanding urgent recruitment of additional nurses, as well as renovation and proper furnishing of nurses’ stations and restrooms to improve working conditions.
“Our demands include immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage with effect from January 2025, payment of promotion arrears from 2018 to 2024, recruitment of additional nurses to ease the current staff shortage, and renovation and proper furnishing of nurses’ stations and rooms.
“The situation has become unbearable, and if the State Government does not intervene in time, we will have no option but to embark on strike at the expiration of the 15-day ultimatum,” the statement read.
The nurses argued that their persistent exclusion from welfare packages could only be resolved if the Oyo State Government directly took over payment of their salaries.
They warned that a strike would have dire consequences for healthcare access in Oyo State and beyond, given that LAUTECH Teaching Hospital is the only state-owned tertiary facility and referral centre for patients from Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin, Okeho, Igbeti, Saki, Kisi, Otta, and parts of Osun and Kwara States.
“The impact will be felt most by pregnant women, children, accident victims, and patients requiring emergency interventions,” the statement added.
The association appealed directly to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene, urging him to uphold fairness and justice in resolving what they described as a “cycle of exclusion” that has demoralised LAUTECH’s nurses and midwives.
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