Resident Doctors at the Ondo state University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Akure, have begun a warning strike over unpaid salaries.
The protesting doctors Monday at the hospital complex, said they were being owed four months’ salary and threatened to embark on total and complete industrial action if government fail to pay their salary.
Taiwo Olagbe, who spoke on behalf of his co-protesters, appealed to well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the state government to settle their unpaid salaries.
Olagbe said: “We are appealing to the well meaningful Nigerians to talk to the power that be to do something as a matter of urgency before it escalates.
“We can’t continue in this kind of evil setting. We say no to slavery, we say no to negative employment as we can’t feed our children any more.
Are we not part of the workers in this state? What is our offence that when other workers in the state are getting their salaries, we will not get our own?
“In view of this, we are totally rejecting this. This can no longer stand. We are using this medium to tell the state government of the day and the management that it is not going to be a business as usual.
Within this week, if nothing is done, we will go on total and complete industrial action by next week Monday.
“We can no longer tolerate this. We are working as jackal, but we are eating like an ant. Our salary is our right. As of today, COVID-19 allowance has not been implemented.
“We have not been receiving the adjustment of minimum wage, we have not received basic salary, not even to talk of minimum wage. This is a pathetic situation.”
The Head of Physician, Ondo State Teaching Hospital Complex, Akure Annex, Adesina Akintan, who addressed the doctors said government was doing everything to ensure that their salary is moved into the mainstream system.
Akintan said the process to pay the salary was about to complete any moment saying “it is your legitimate right to ventilate your frustration.”
