Workers of Imo State Specialist Hospital  Umuguma, New Owerri on Monday Feb. 24, held a peaceful demonstration over non-payment of salaries for eight months.

The workers who blocked the gate of the hospital for several hours carried several placards depicting their grievances.

Some of them read: ”Pay us our salaries and its arrears” ”No pay No work”, ”Enough is a enough,” etc.  After the peaceful protest, the workers left for their various homes, thus kick-starting an indefinite strike.

In a resolution the workers reached before embarking on the peaceful demonstration, they regretted government’s insensitivity to their plight and insisted that they can no longer work without payment.

In the resolution which was made available to THE LEADER, the workers wondered where they really belong.

”If it is Ministry of Health, we should be receiving our salaries, when other members of the Ministry of Health, are receiving theirs; If it is Health Management Board (HMB), when workers  of HMB are receiving their salaries we should receive our own too; If it is Imo State Teaching Hospital Orlu, we should also  receive our salaries when they are receiving theirs; If we are autonomous, we should also receive our salaries when other workers of the state are receiving theirs”.

The workers advised the government to send them back to HMB, If it wants to privatize the hospital.

”Anybody can take over this hospital; we are not against it or its management. What we are after is our welfare as government workers; to receive all our entitlements as done for government workers”, the health workers said.

The aggrieved workers were ready to talk to anybody who cared to listen about what they are going through as a result of Imo Government nonchalant attitude to their welfare.

”Oga pressman, let me tell you our problem is because we opposed Gov. Okorocha’s privatization of the hospital; so that is why he is punishing us; This is what I tell our leaders, but they don’t want to consider my opinion because I am a junior staff”, one of the aggrieved staff told THE LEADER.

The workers also complained that their landlords were threatening to eject them while their children were out of school as they could no longer afford their school fees.

Our reporter said the SpecialistHospital formerly known as Umuguma GeneralHospital has been “sick” since the administration of Governor Okorocha. The once busy hospital is now a shadow of it’s old self as patients are reluctant to patronize it following incessant strikes by the workers.

Meanwhile, relations have been evacuating their sick relations on admission in the hospital due to the indefinite strike.

“I was actually advised not to bring my mother to this hospital because of the poor relationship between the workers and the state government.  I thought that the issues have been resolved.  Now, I have learnt my lesson”, a young man told THE LEADER.

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