Workers belonging to all labour unions in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, on Wednesday staged a one-day peaceful protest demanding for improved condition of service and tools.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workers are asking the management of the hospital to address their promotion arrears, shortage of staff and other rights.
The workers said the protest followed a directive from all their national bodies in Abuja to resolve the challenges LUTH facing the hospital.
The protest was led by the all the unions leaders, including the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and Association of Resident Doctors (ARD).
Others are the Medical and Health Workers’ Union, Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI).
However, the LUTH management ordered security officials to lock all conference rooms and closely monitor the protest.
The aggrieved workers were also seen singing and carrying placards around the premises peacefully.
Some of the placards read: “Federal Ministry of Health pay us our teaching allowance’’; “Stop stagnation’’; “Nurses are professionals that should be respected and not treated as slaves’’.
“Is LUTH truly a public hospital?”; “Pay our withheld salaries and allowances”; “Provide conducive working environment”, and “Put a stop to scale to scale promotion”.
Mrs Yemisi Adelaja, (NANNM) Chairman, LUTH chapter, told newsmen in Lagos that the protest was to draw Federal Government attention to the plight and suffering of all LUTH workers.
She said that all the unions in LUTH decided to hold a joint meeting and protest to be able to “speak with one voice and let the whole world know our challenges’’.
According to Adelaja, the deteriorating state of infrastructure and non-availability of adequate medical consumables are situations that have progressively gone worse in recent times.
She listed some of their demands to include discriminatory and selective implementation of policies by the federal ministry of health on career progression for nurses and midwives.
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