UCH Allied Health Professionals Embark on Indefinite Strike

By Kemi Olaitan

Medical and non-medical workers under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan branch, Tuesday began an indefinite strike action.

The branch Chairman of the union, Oladayo Olabampe, ordered the workers who had turned up for duty to shut the doors and vacate the hospital premises after addressing journalists and staging peaceful protest round the hospital.

He said by embarking on the strike, health professionals that include the Medical Laboratory Scientist, Physiotherapist, Radiography, Dieticians, Dental Technologist Occupational Therapist, Health Information Management, Nutritionist, Social Workers, Speech Therapist, Dental Therapist, Optometrist, Clinical Psychologist, Prosthetics/Orthotics, Medical Physics, Audiology, EEG and ECG specialists, among others would not be available for service pending the resolution of the matter that led to the strike.

While explaining what forced the union to adopt the option of strike, Olabampe said their grievances border on non-payment of salaries of some regular staff, as well as the irregular payment of salary for health professional interns, adding that the decision came as a last resort after all forms of consultation and dialogue yielded no tangible and positive result.

The NUAHP chairman listed the demands of the union to include “immediate payment of salaries of members of the union who have worked for five solid months without pay”.

According to him, “Immediate payment of balance of salaries of all interns who are being paid on pro-rata basis from January 2021 till date. Immediate stoppage of all forms of discriminatory action of UCH management and by extension, the federal government against the union.”

He stated that salaries and allowances of all staff of UCH, Ibadan from January 2021 to May 2021 be paid without further delay because workers deserve their pay, urging the federal government to act accordingly on the matter if industrial harmony is to be guaranteed, while also appealing to the patients accessing the facility to bear with the striking workers by showing understanding.

“Since it is not possible to beat someone and deny him cry, we are using this medium to tell the Federal Government of Nigeria to act accordingly, failing which we cannot assure Nigerians of industrial peace in Nigeria and UCH in particular.

“We also wish to use this medium to appeal to the Nigerian populace, especially our dearly beloved patients and clients to please understand with us. We are never happy to embark on industrial action, being fully conscious of the nature of our jobs. Meanwhile, this is coming as our last resort, having engaged in all forms of consultations and dialogue which yielded no tangible result,” he stated.

As a way of announcing the commencement of the strike to the hospital community, the workers embarked on a peaceful protest carrying placards and singing solidarity songs.

The inscriptions on some of the placards include “A hungry man is an angry man”, “All works and no pay, makes Jack a poor boy”, “Pay all outstanding salaries now”, “Aluta Continua!!! Pay all outstanding of our interns and permanent staff”, “Strike!!! Work without pay makes us poor”, and many others.