Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

The Chairman of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) University College Hospital (UCH) branch, Ibadan, Dr Adeolu Ali, said on Monday that the union recorded 98 per cent compliance on the first day of the strike in the teaching hospital.

The national body had directed all members of the union to embark on a nationwide strike to press home their demands, including payment of the shortfall arising from the implementations of COVID-19 special inducement.

The entrance gate of the hospital was locked from morning till evening, which caused heavy traffic. Health workers, including the security guards, stayed away from their duty posts.

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According to Ali: ‘We recorded over 98 per cent compliance with the warning strike on the first day. But we want to plead that Nigerian populace should bear with us. This strike is necessary for our demands to be met. We have been pushed to the wall. The government had earlier had an agreement with us in September 2017, May 2018, and there was a court judgement in December 2018, which all are yet to be implemented.

‘We understand the plight of Nigerians, and that is why we embarked on seven days strike. If not for that, we would have embarked on total strike. We know that UCH remains a rallying point for patients in this state and Nigeria as a whole.

‘We are law abiding and what we are doing now is just a warning strike, which is going to expire next week Monday, and we are going to pursue our demands lawfully. We don’t have any problem with UCH management because this is a national issue between the Federal Government and the leaders of our union at the national level.’