The Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Michael Ibadin, says the implementation of “no work, no pay” policy will end impunity in the civil service sector in Nigeria.
Ibadin said this when fielded questions from newsmen in Benin on Wednesday on the industrial crisis rocking federal government owned health institutions.
He allayed fears about plan to sack workers in the UBTH.
The medical director decried the ongoing strike by the hospital nurses and medical laboratory.
He noted that reasons for their strike were beyond the jurisdiction of the management of the institution.
The CMD said the management had held series of meetings with these unions in order to get them understand this position.
Ibadin regretted that each of these meetings had always ended in deadlock as the unions kept coming up with new demands.
He said the strike action has adverse effects on the activities of the hospital.
“The low economic fortune of the country, adjustment of entry point for medical laboratory scientists according to their understanding can’t be met.
“Same goes for the uniform allowance and abrogation of the principal nursing officer grade.
“This impunity you are witnessing has to do with the fact that government has not been able to implement no work, no pay.
“If government implements no work, no pay, no worker will go on strike.
“If there are genuine reasons you want to go on strike nobody will stop you but for very minor reason, things that you know are not within the purview of management you start going on strike then it is reprehensible.
“I want to use the opportunity to discountenance the insinuations that management want to sack people.
“They are all senior staff; it is only the board or ministry that can sack people. The CMD doesn’t have the power to sack and their job is not threatened.
“We are appealing to them to come back to work, we will continue to negotiate and discuss,’’ he assured.
On the demands by nurses, Ibadin said only the head of service can abrogate the position of the principal nursing officer as demanded by the nurses.
“Even if we are going to make serious adjustment it will come after the budget is released; right now we don’t know what the budget of the hospital is.
“It doesn’t make sense we are discussing changes in personnel cost when we don’t know what the budget is.
“When we went to defend the budget at the National Assembly we discovered that they gave us 6.8 per cent less than what they gave us last year so there is actually a drop.
“In the face of a drop how come we are talking of increasing the personnel cost and the budget has not been passed,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that staff of the hospital’s laboratory had been on strike since Feb. 15, while the nurses embarked joined the strike to press home their demand on Tuesday. (NAN)
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