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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Workers of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba, yesterday, staged a protest over unpaid salaries, forcing the health Institution to be partially shut down.
Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Abia State branch, Dr. Isaiah Abali, who spoke on behalf of the workers, expressed sadness over the unpaid salary of the workers, stressing that it was unfortunate that health workers were neglected in the current harsh economy.
He called on Governor Alex Otti to do all within his powers to ensure that the May and June salaries of all the workers in the hospital are paid, adding that the economic condition is biting harder and, as such, will be disastrous to any worker.
“The easiest thing you can do for a worker is to pay him his salary. That’s the most honest earning. Once you have done your work perfectly, there should be no story on why you should not be paid.”
Abali told the governor that ABSUTH workers were suffering and greatly feeling the pains of non-payment of salaries which is not a good situation to be in Nigeria now.
“All of us are saying that the government should let the workers breathe. We’re calling on our amiable governor; we’ve seen your giant strides on infrastructure, but we’re begging that those strides be extended to ABSUTH workers, so that they will not trek along the well-tarred road while coming to work.
“It does not make sense that workers will trek from Ogbor-Hill down to Abayi here, because they don’t have money for transport. So, we’re appealing to the government that ABSUTH workers are very hungry. We’ve been trying to calm the workers down, but if you push people hard to the wall, you cannot predict what will happen.
That’s how revolution starts, but we don’t want revolution now. We want peace and we want the workers to get their pay.”
Abali said the workers were not interested in whatever payment method the government was adopting, but only interested in the government paying them. The Chairman, Medical and Health Workers Association Union, ABSUTH branch, Comrade Chukwuemeka Ariwodo, said nobody in ABSUTH was happy over the unpaid salary.
“We’re surprised that the government has refused to pay us our May 2024 salary, and as it stands, now, our June 2024 salary is in peril because we’re now unsure of our tomorrow. Next tomorrow, other people will start receiving June salaries and from the obvious situation, they’ll likely skip us. They’ll not pay us, so we’re calling on the governor to pay us our May and June salaries.”
Ariwodo said the workers are still expecting Otti to fulfil his promise of clearing the arrears of their salaries, which he promised during the campaigns.
He added: “We’re still expecting our 21 months arrears. If by the end of today (Tuesday), the government fails to pay us, this demonstration will continue until they pay us. We don’t know what’s delaying the payment of our salary”, Ariwodo said.
