The Nigeria Medical Association has called on the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State to pay the three months outstanding salaries of doctors and other health workers in the state in the interest of the masses.
The NMA Chairman in the state, Dr. Suraj Ogunyemi, said this in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Thursday.
Ogunyemi said that it was unfortunate that there was a steady fall in the oil price, but stated that the dwindling resources had not stopped the governor from embarking on campaign for candidates of his political party.
The NMA chairman said that most doctors had become disenchanted because their salaries were no longer regular.
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Ogunyemi said, “Doctors are being owed three months. Many of them are simply not happy with this because it is affecting their enthusiasm for work.
“Government should make the welfare of doctors and other health workers an issue of priority. They are doing critical tasks and they should not be made to suffer before they are paid.
“We are appealing to the governor to make issue of health workers’ welfare a priority. After all they are campaigning and we know that they don’t just move round and talk, money is involved and political campaigns are expensive.”
Two medical doctors who are working at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo also told our correspondent in separate interviews that some of them had started looking for employment in Federal Government hospitals because of the refusal of the state government to pay them regularly.
The doctors, who pleaded that they should not be named for fear of persecution, said that the last salaries they collected were for the month of October, adding that the state government might have concluded plans to be paying them quarterly.
He said, “The government of the state owes doctors three months salaries. Except we want to fool ourselves, nobody can give their best in this kind of situation. When you work and at the end of the month, you are not even expecting to receive salary.
“We are poorly remunerated and to make it worse, the poor salaries are not even being paid. Our so called hazard allowance per month is N5, 000.00 and those at the General Hospitals earn about N4, 500.00.
“Is this up to the amount spent by some political office holders to drink and eat pepper soup in one evening? We are suffering just like other health workers and civil servants are suffering.”
The aggrieved doctors also added that the pension fund deducted from their salaries was not being paid to their retirement savings accounts.
They stated that this contravened the Pension Reform Act while appealing to the governor to encourage workers by making their welfare an issue of priority.
BY FEMI MAKINDE
PUNCH.
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