LAUTECH workers disagree with Aregbesola over illegal recruitment

The Joint Health Sector Unions at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, have described the claims of Governor Rauf Aregbesola that the over 1,000 workers of the hospital pencilled down for sacking were illegally recruited as a lie.

The JOHESU said this in a statement issued by its Chairman, A. Afolabi, and Secretary, V.Y. Ayano. A copy of the statement was made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Sunday by the Publicity Secretary of the union, Mrs. Oyeyemi Folorunso.

The governor had said in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, on Saturday that over 600 workers at the hospital were illegally employed.

But JOHESU said this was not true because the recruitments followed all the laid down procedures and were carried out by the Chief Medical Director, who was an appointee of the governor.

They also argued that those recruited cut across clinical and non-clinical departments and were not administrative officers only, as claimed by the governor.

The workers asked the governor to adduce other reasons why he wanted to sack workers who were duly employed and had been receiving salaries since 2012.

The statement read, “That apart from the fact that the employment of these workers were carried out by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director who is an appointee of the government, acting for, accountable and responsive to the government; vacancies for the appointments were advertised in The Nation newspaper of Monday 20th February, 2012, and employment forms were sold to the applicants at the rate of five thousand naira each (N5, 000.00).

“It was in response to the advertisement that the workers applied, were interviewed and validly recruited. Hence, this recruitment cannot be described as illegal. Mr. Okanlawon should tell the entire world and substantiate the acclaimed illegality of the employment or come up with another excuse.

“No promotion, as claimed by Mr. Okanlawon, was done within three months, rather letters that were officially served to our members were to regularise their employment which was never done within three months.

“The claim that the number of administrative personnel tripled the numbers of doctors and consultants is untrue because the total number of staff strength is 2,047, according to the forensic auditors; administrative staff are less than one third of the total population.”

The workers also claimed that the Board of Management of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, constituted by the governor and had been saddled with the responsibility of effecting the mass sacking, was illegal.

The unions stated that the constitution of the board was not done in conformity with the provision of Edict N0. 2. 0f 1999, which established the hospital and stipulated that other health professionals should be represented on the board.

The workers warned the acting CMD, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, and Chairman of the board, Prof. Oluwole Atoyebi, not to allow themselves to be used to carry out the mass sacking.