Sack fever grips LAUTECH workers

…Union seeks Assembly’s intervention

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NIGERIA: APPARENTLY pre-empting that their jobs are on the line, workers of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), have run to the state House of Assembly for help.

The staff, under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Union, have petitioned the Assembly on the alleged plan of the state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to sack over 1,000 workers in the hospital.
The chairman of the union, A. Afolabi and Secretary, V.Y. Ayano, in a copy of the petition made available to GatewayMail on Friday in Osogbo, said that the directive to carry out mass retrenchment of the workers in the hospital was contained on pages 9 and 10 of the government gazette No 1, Vol. 26 of 12^th January, 2016.

The union urged the lawmakers to carry out an investigation on the matter to know the true position of things.
The petition read: “The above named union wishes to bring to your attention the executive order of Mr. Governor to implement mass retrenchment of over one thousand workers in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo.

“You will recall that forensic auditors were employed to carry out auditing exercise in the
institution.  The report of the audit even though gave favourable recommendations to Mr.
Governor, however none of the recommendations was honoured.”

“Mr. Governor gave contrary instructions that workers should be sacked,” the petition said, adding: “We hereby appeal that the honourable lawmakers will investigate the matter for your possible intervention as a matter of urgent importance while we expect that the entire
House will prevail on Mr. Governor not to implement his decision to sack.”

Some of the reasons for the planned sack listed in the gazette, according to the petition, include over-staffing, over-recruitment, unlawful upgrading of staff, and overstay of residency programme by the resident doctors.

This was said to have increased the wage bill and the state government is bent on sacking to
reduce costs, the petition further said.
‎However, the media aide to the governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, was yet to comment on the issue as at the time of filing this report.

• Tope Kayode-Adedeji