By James Ogunnaike
Day 2 of the ongoing nationwide strike by the National Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Wednesday took a new dimension in Ogun State, as patients at the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) Sagamu were left unattended to by doctors and nurses.
Vanguard reliably gathered that doctors, nurses, midwives, laboratory officials, record keepers and other staff of the hospital joined the strike on Wednesday.
A worker with the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the hospital staff joined the strike on Wednesday.
The source said “Yes, we had a congress this morning and I can confirm that the hospital joined the strike this morning, every worker that has been confirmed has withdrawn their services until the strike is over. The hospital may however be giving skeletal services because the doctors and some staff, who are yet to be confirmed will still be around, you know that, it is the law that workers not confirmed can not join strike action”.
It was also gathered that union leaders had stormed the hospital with canes in their hands, ready to flog out anyone who might want to resume work against the strike action.
One Mrs Abiola Ade, who was at the hospital said, “I came from Abeokuta this morning to pick the result of a test I did last week, but they told me they have joined the strike. So, I will have go to back. This is so annoying.”
A nurse with the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta also told our Correspondent that the hospital has joined the strike while the patients have been told to go home.
The NLC Chairman in Ogun State, Hammed Ademola Benco, said the compliance to the strike was encouraging, insisting that the labour in the state would not pull out of the strike, adding that the strike would be total.
“It is not possible for us to pull out of the strike because it is a national directive. We have been going around to make sure there is compliance and we can see that the level of compliance is high.
“We just have to comply with the directive of the national body. The instructions are to stay at home so we don’t expect anybody to go to work.
“We have circulated different letters to all affiliates and they have started calling their members to stay at home because this particular strike is stay-at-home action, it is not the type of strike that we will be forcing them out of offices, it stays at home action”, the NLC chairman said.
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