Follow Us on Google
Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Nurses in the employ of Ondo State Government-owned University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure, yesterday, protested the non-payment of their five months salary arrears.
The nurses, who carried placards with various inscriptions, condemned the state government’s stance on their plight.
One of the protesters said: “From June 2019, some nurses were employed in batches due to shortage of members of staff. The newly employed nurses after working for six, five, four and three months respectively, depending on the batch of employment they belonged, are yet to be paid.
“These nurses were there during the outbreak of Lassa fever and the novel coronavirus disease (COVID19) in the state and they risked their lives despite not being paid.
“Shortly after, the salaries started being paid haphazardly with a month salary paid after every two to three months. So, many of these professional nurses had to start borrowing to get to work and meet up with other needs.
“As it stands, five months salaries are still being owed without any hope of being paid. Efforts to demand their salaries were sabotaged. Worthy of note is that a good number of these new nurses tested positive for COVID-19 despite not being remunerated. Asides these, the single and double qualified nurses in the same institution experienced massive salary slashes earlier this year.”
The protesters demanded to know if they are government employees considering the the ill-treatment they are experiencing.
