LAUTECH workers protest ‘sudden’ salary reduction

Scores of workers of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, on Monday protested over what they described as a sudden salary reduction by the hospital management.

Vanguard reports that some of the workers, as a result of the reduction in their take home pay, wept profusely when their hopes of earning a bigger salary in January were dashed.

It was also learnt that the protest led to shutting down the hospital gates and administrative offices within the hospital.

The aggrieved workers, who are from various unions, said they could not keep quiet when they discovered that their January salaries were lower than their previous earnings.

Mr Olabaniyi David, Chairman of the Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Healthcare Professionals (JOHESU), who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved workers their hopes had been raised following the state government’s implementation of the new minimum wage for civil servants.

He said, “What they paid us is not what we expected. We were hopeful when other workers in the state received the new minimum wage. 

“But, when our members started receiving salary alerts over the weekend, it was even lower than what we earned in December. That’s why we are gathered here to hear from the management.”

Also expressing their disappointment, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Mr Olaniran Adebayo noted, “Many of us broke down in tears when we received our salary alerts. Instead of the expected minimum wage, our pay was reduced.”

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To worsen the case, he added, that “arrears owed us from 2018 to 2023 were not paid, except for four months promotional benefits. 

“We also discovered that the tax rate had been increased without a corresponding salary adjustment. Our members are accusing us of betraying them, thinking we compromised on their behalf.”

They further stated that the hospital management were helpless because the government reduced the subvention given to the hospital.

In her own comments, Mrs Olajide Bukola from the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) said the silence from relevant authorities was very disturbing.

“We have not been informed about what is happening. There was no meeting with us before this happened, and that is why we are protesting.”

The spokesperson for hospital management, Mr Omotayo Ogunleye said the management held a meeting with the different unions today on how to resolve the issue.