LAUTECH nurses issue 15-day strike ultimatum

Nurses and midwives at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, have given management a 15-day ultimatum over poor welfare and neglect.

The workers, under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), accused the hospital of sidelining them whenever new benefits were approved for health workers in Oyo State.

In a statement signed by Unit Chairman Ojewumi Olutayo and Secretary Adedokun Foluwake, the nurses said their colleagues in other state-owned hospitals had started enjoying the new national minimum wage while LAUTECH staff were left behind.

They also cited unpaid COVID-19 allowances, promotion arrears dating back to 2018, poor hazard allowances, staff shortages, and neglected facilities.

“The situation has become unbearable, and if the State Government does not intervene in time, we will have no option but to embark on strike,” the workers warned.

The nurses are demanding:

Immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage (from January 2025).

Payment of promotion arrears from 2018–2024.

Recruitment of more nurses.

Renovation and proper furnishing of nurses’ stations.

The group warned that a strike would cripple healthcare in Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin, Okeho, Igbeti, Saki, Kisi, Otta and parts of Osun and Kwara States—hitting pregnant women, children and emergency patients the hardest.