The workers of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions(JOHESU), have resolved to embark on indefinite strike from Monday, January 13, if the management fails to reverse the ‘unlawful’ sack of its members.

JOHESU Chairperson Com. Omotola Farotimi said in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday that the strike supposed to start on Friday (today), but the management of the hospital has been given three days extension for the management to have a rethink over the issue.

The management had on the New Year eve disengaged about 200 workers for alleged irregular appointments and sundry of allegations but reinstated some of the affected workers due to pressure from organised labour.

The institution said the action was sequel to the adoption of the report of Prof. Ebun Adejuyigbe-led visitation panel to the hospital, which was released as white paper by the government.

Farotimi said although the management had given the other affected opportunity to resume work but insisted must be backed with MoU to extract assurance before they can go back to their duty post.

“We have given the management another extension of three days and it will end on Sunday, January 12 and if nothing is done before that day, there will be total shutdown of the system at EKSUTH from Monday, January, 13.

“The management said they have told some workers to return to their duty posts, but we don’t want verbal assurance, let them back it with a letter and this must be done before Sunday.

“We thank God that the engagement we had with the management is yielding positive results. Those compulsorily retired has been recalled and we want others who were illegally sacked to return to work to guarantee industrial harmony”.

Farotimi faulted the disengagement of some workers on the strength that they were employed in 2018 when there was embargo on employment.

“They said those that were employed between July and December 2018 were illegal workers, because there was embargo then. These workers were given letters of disengagement on December 31, 2020. We asked for the letter of embargo, but none was produced .

“It is sad that workers in some critical areas in the clinical sector were sacked based on these flimsy excuses.

We won’t deceive you the service in the hospital is grossly affected, the patients even are complaining, roasters are affected. If they are not reversing within three days, it’s going to be a total shut down of the entire state health sector”, she said.

Also speaking, the organised labour through the Secretary of the joint Negotiating Council, Com Gbenga Olowoyo, said there may be sympathy strike from other sectors of the civil service should government allows the strike to commence.

“The extension was made by labour to follow due process. We are not fighting the government but management of EKSUTH, who are surreptitiously dealing with our people on daily basis.

” We are giving a total backing to this proposed strike, because you can’t hoodwink people with a stage-managed report, it has to be evaluated. That was the mistake they made at EKSU where lecturers were mistakenly captured on the sack list,because the report was not reviewed. They forgot they were dealing with human beings and pseudo-human beings.

“There will be sympathy strike from all workers, because they are unhappy about the way our people were given sack letters on December 31 when they were in celebration mood. They want us to resort to suicide, we won’t allow that to happen,” he said.