ABSUTH workers give government a week ultimatum to fulfill promises or face strike

By Ijendu Iheaka


Dec.7, 2016

Workers of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) on Friday extended the date of their planned commencement of an indefinite strike against the state government to next Friday.

Our blog reports that the workers had last week planned to start a strike action by Monday.

They said they had exhausted available avenues for a resolution of their grievances against the state government without result.

The ABSUTH Joint Unions’ Chairman, Mr Emea Ukariwe, who made this known in an interview with our reporter in Aba on Wednesday said, they, however, changed their minds following a meeting with Abia Government representatives.

Ukariwe said they decided to exercise patience and give the government a week to fulfill the promises it made to them on the issues discussed.

“The meeting between us and the government representatives -the commissioner for health, commissioner for finance and the permanent secretary, Ministry of Establishment was successful.

“They come up with some promises and if they fulfill them, we will suspend the strike action.

“They said they will start implementing those promises. We are going to hold on until the expiration of the timeline which is Friday next week.

‘If by Friday next week all the promises are not fulfilled by the state government, we will commence the strike action we had planned,” Ukariwe said.

He said that the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Allied Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), ABSUTH chapter was demanding payment of at least three month’s salary out of seven months owed them.

They are also asking for the payment of 12 months out of the 27months pension arrears owed their pensioners.

Ukariwe said the workers are demanding that the CONHESS salary scale be implemented for all staff while CONMESS scale should be implemented for both medical and dental doctors.

He said they equally want the government to refund them over N27 million which accrued to them from their cooperative society contributory deductions held by government since two years.