Health workers in Ekiti State, under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Unions, on Thursday gave the state government till September 15 to clear their July and August salaries arrears or be prepared for industrial action.

The union, which comprised chapters of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) and state councils, also asked the government to release the two months accumulated subvention to the hospitals to enable them carry out their responsibilities to both workers and the society.

The aggrieved workers had as early as 7am on Thursday converged on EKSUTH’s gate where they displayed placards bearing different inscriptions denouncing government’s action.

Some of the placards read “Fayemi pay our salary, “pay health workers retirees their gratuities now”,  Governor pay our salaries now”,
“we need our subvention to prevent Ebola virus disease”.

The Chairman of the union, EKSUTH chapter, Mr. Sola Ojo, said it was unfortunate that the government did not respond to a letter written to it a week ago demanding the release of the oustanding subvention to the hospital.

He lamented that delay in releasing July and August subventions, had impacted negatively on the hospital as it had not been able to pay workers’ salaries and put in place necessary things to improve working condition of health workers.

Ojo said even the July salary government claimed to have paid could not be accessed in the banks.

He added: “The health sector should be protected, we need protective materials, there is no isolation and diagnostic centres and still the government is owing us salary.

“The government is holding our subvention, the hospital cannot pay salaries. We are not being financed adequately. We were paid last in June”.

While decrying non-availability of isolation centre, he said, “if Ebola enters this state today, nobody is save”.

Ojo threatened that if the subvention is not paid within the stipulated time, workers in the health sector would go on strike.

Ojo also urged the government to pay the gratuity of retired health workers saying the workers could go on strike because of that.

In his reaction, the Chief Medical Director of EKSUTH, Dr Kolawole Ogundipe, said the hospital is being owed only August subvention adding that the workers’ July salary had also been paid.

He added: “It is disturbing that as at September 4 people are protesting non-payment of August salary.

He said the government had a well-equipped Ebola isolation centre at Oba Adejuyigbe General Hospital.