IMSUTH Staff shut hospital over salary arrears

www.odogwublog.com reports that hundreds of staff of the Imo state University Teaching Hospital, (IMSUTH) Orlu, today shut the administrative block of the hospital to protest payment of 18 months half salaries and other grievances, and death of four workers.
The protesters disclosed that they were being paid 70 percent for the past 18 months, while for the past three months, they had not been paid anything .
The embittered workers under Joint Action Committee (JAC) said that they had lost confidence in the hospital management.
Part of their demands was that the management should serve the interest of IMSUTH staff, patients and that of the entire hospital or step aside.
Addressing newsmen, JAC chairman, Dr Bright Chukwunta, said the slash and non payment of salaries by the management had led to the death of four of his colleagues.
Chukwunta said "as I speak to you, four of our colleagues are in the morgue. We are going through unbearable financial distress and ill health due to inability to meet our essential needs. Salaries have been arbitrarily reduced by 30 percent for the past 18 months now and the salaries of the past three months, May, June and July of 2017 ,are yet to be paid at all. We cannot even pay our wards school fees".
Dr Chukwunta accused the Chief Medical Director of IMSUTH, Dr Fredrick Anoluo, and other top management committee members of insensitivity of their plight .
The protesters all dressed in black attires, bore different placards with various inscriptions to express their grievances , just as the medical personnel prayed to God to intervene in their matter.
Chukwunta, a surgeon who doubles as the Chairman of The Association Of Resident Doctors of the hospital enthused that JAC has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the management to pay the cumulative arrears of the 30 percent of the 18 months and the 100 percent of the three months or they would down their tools.
Chukwunta said "all the staff of IMSUTH which are made up of The Association of Resident Doctors, Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, National Association Of Nurses and  midwives, Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria and National Union of Allied Professional have declared a 21 day fasting session and prayer in the hospital. During the 21 days, we all shall be wearing black clothes to depict our pitiable condition. So from now anybody you see in the hospital wearing black is our member and it is in solidarity of  our this struggle ".
 Chukwunta, lamented that while staff slave day and night to save peoples lives, the hospital management of the hospital allegedly feeds fat with the proceeds of the hospital .
He said "do you know that we conduct delivery operation with torchlight. While we have a member of the top management committee who has collected three months salaries in advance, while we are not  paid. No staff clinic and the management are running on the hospital's billing, including fueling of the generating sets in their different homes as well as cars", Chukwunta lamented. 
However, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Fredrick Anoluo on his part,
said it is true that the hospital is owing three months salary arrears adding that the 70 percent payment is the policy of the state government which was implemented across the state.
Dr Anoluo said "it is not our making. For the three months salary arrears, it was when the Resident Doctors went on strike and the Government said no work no salary. Even our subvention is 70 percent and not 100 percent, so we work hard to meet up with the operational and administrative standard. The management is making huge sacrifices to make sure that the hospital is up to standard".