Organized Labour in Ondo State has commenced an indefinite strike over the lingering dispute at the Federal University of Technology Akure Teaching Hospital (FUTATH), accusing the hospital’s management of failing to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) guiding the institution’s transition from the former State Specialist Hospital to a federal teaching hospital.
The industrial action, which took effect at midnight on Monday, was accompanied by a peaceful protest as members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and affiliated health sector unions marched from the Aquinas College area of Akure to the hospital premises.
Carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, the protesters demanded the full implementation of the transition agreement and expressed concerns over what they described as the management’s failure to honour commitments made to workers during the conversion process.
Addressing the protesters, the Ondo State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Clement Fatuase, supported calls for the removal of the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Olusegun Ojo. He also demanded the withdrawal of a controversial letter issued to workers regarding their union membership, describing it as unacceptable.
Fatuase said the labour movement would continue to defend the rights and welfare of workers, insisting that agreements reached during the transition process must be respected.
Also speaking, the Ondo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ademola Olapade, said workers had been left uncertain about their future due to what he described as the management’s failure to implement the terms of the MoU.
According to him, organised labour would sustain the industrial action until all outstanding issues were addressed and the transition agreement fully implemented.
“Workers cannot be left in uncertainty while agreements meant to protect their rights are ignored. We will sustain this action until the transition MoU is fully implemented,” Olapade declared.
Representing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the protest, the Special Adviser on Union Matters, Comrade Bola Taiwo, assured workers that no employee would lose his or her job as a result of the transition process.
Taiwo appealed to the unions to suspend the strike and allow ongoing discussions to continue, assuring them of the state government’s commitment to resolving the dispute through dialogue and engagement with relevant stakeholders.