The claim by the Seyi Makinde led administration that it has implemented new minimum wage in Oyo State is sectional and deceptive, Oyo State chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria has alleged.
SPN made the allegation in a press statement signed by its state secretary, Ayodeji Adigun made available to OYOINSIGHT.COM on Thursday.
The party also stated that the recent ultimatum issued by the Association of Resident Doctors at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso to down tools if the Management of the Hospital and the Engr Seyi Makinde led Oyo State Government fail to respond to their list of demands is a commendable one.
“The attention of the Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN Oyo State Chapter has been drawn to a 14 day- ultimatum issued on June 11, 2020 by the Association of Resident Doctors at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso with a threat to down tools should the Management of the Hospital and the Engr Seyi Makinde led Oyo State Government fail to respond to their list of demands.
“According to media reports, demands are: payment of two years arrears of half salaries from January 2016 to December 2017 which was owed by the discredited Ajimobi/APC administration in Oyo State; procurement, installation, repair and maintenance of sophisticated medical equipment needed to carry out their health care services efficiently within the hospital, employment of more health workers in order to stop over labouring the available ones, improvement in the salary scale to reflect the new minimum wage with its arrears from January 2020 and the standard already in practice across the country.”
The party stressed further that “it supports all these demands and calls on Oyo state government to meet the demands in order to avert the strike and its attendant implication on the ordinary people of the state” because “It will be quite unfortunate at this critical period that the State is helpless and the lives of thousands of working people are at risk with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the State.”
The statement read further, “It is in a bid to avert this ugly situation that we hereby call on mass of the working people in the State particularly the leadership of the two existing labour centre in the State; Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC to lend support to these demands of the resident doctors with a view to prevail on Engr Seyi Makinde-led government to accede to these demands without further delay. We also call on NMA and other health workers unions to solidarise with the doctors in their struggle.
“Beyond this is also to note that the demands of the resident doctors and the threat of strike have further exposed and made a mockery of all the so called achievements claimed by the Engr Seyi Makinde-led government in the health sector in its one year in office. Again, the demands by the doctors have no doubt showed that the claim of the implementation of the new minimum wage by Engr Seyi Makinde-led government for all categories of civil servants in the State is not only sectional but also deceptive. This has again underscored the SPN standpoint that most of the so-called achievements of Engr Seyi Makinde-led government are largely for the purpose of grandstanding and propaganda!”
The party then urged the resident doctors not to limit the ultimatum to just a media pronouncement but they should also commence immediate mobilisation and sensitisation of other categories of health workers including the mass of Nigeria workers and the poor masses across the State in order to win mass support for their demands and the strike should the Makinde led government in the State fails to accede to their demands.
