Pay Us Before We Become Slave To Our Lenders – Ondo Nurses Protest Unpaid Salaries

By Daily Metro News NG

The University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo Nurses engaged recently have issued a one – week notice to the Akeredolu led government to pay their five months salary arrears.

The nurses who protested at their Akure hospital complex, said the Governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu has refused to respect their demands despite several meetings.

The Nurses carrying different placards with various inscriptions of solidarity and plea on Thursday gave the state government 7 days ultimatum.

The aggrieved nurses said they would embark on an indefinite strike after the expiration of the ultimatum.

The nurses are also demanding for regularization of their slashed salaries and provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) especially during this pandemic.

They said the failure of government to pay their salaries for several months, have turned them to beggars and debtors.

They added, “Starting from June 2019, some nurses were employed in batches, that is different months at the facility as the existing shortage of members of staff brought about the urgent employment of nurses.

“Following the employment, the newly employed nurses saw themselves working for 6 months, 5 months, 4 months and 3 months depending on the batch of employment they belonged to without being paid.

“Shortly after, the salaries started being paid haphazardly with a month salary paid after every 2 – 3 months, so many nurses had to start borrowing to even get to work and meet up with other needs.

“As it stands presently, 4 – 5 months salaries are still being owed without any hope of payment.

“All efforts to demand for our salaries were sabotaged. Worthy of note is that a good number of us tested positive for COVID-19 despite not being renumerated.

“Asides these, the single and double qualified nurses in the same institution experienced massive salary slashes earlier this year”, they lamented.