Workers at the Osun State University Teaching Hospital (UNIOSUNTH), Osogbo, have threatened an indefinite strike from Monday over plans to introduce a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement across some services at the facility.
The workers, under the Joint Action Committee of unions at the hospital, protested in Osogbo on Thursday and demanded that management halt the proposed arrangement.
The unions said the plan would affect services including the laboratory, Intensive Care Unit, radiology, kitchen, morgue and security.
Olumide Faniran, a union elder and member of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), said the workers were not opposed to improvements at the hospital but objected to the PPP process, which he said was being pursued without adequate consultation.
He alleged that management had continued preparations for a private laboratory despite an earlier understanding that existing arrangements would remain while discussions continued.
“We had a meeting with them a few days ago, where we agreed that the status quo should remain. But to our surprise, they conducted interviews yesterday for the intending workers they want to engage for the private laboratory,” Faniran said.
He questioned the need for a private laboratory, claiming that the hospital’s existing laboratory was generating more than 100 per cent revenue.
Faniran also said shortages of reagents and other consumables had affected the laboratory’s operations and urged management to provide the necessary materials instead of introducing a private operator.
Tension escalated after a meeting between the unions and the hospital’s governing board failed to take place on Thursday as scheduled.
Faniran said workers had gathered for the meeting from 10 a.m. but were informed around 2:30 p.m. that the board would not meet them and that they should submit their position in writing.
The unions subsequently held a congress and resolved to proceed with the protest.
Faniran said the workers wanted the hospital to strengthen its existing services with equipment, reagents and consumables rather than hand them over under a PPP arrangement.
He said the unions’ 14-day ultimatum would expire at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, after which they would begin an indefinite strike if their demands were not addressed.
“That is why we are now resisting. Radiology, ICU, Morgue, Kitchen and Security are all affected,” Faniran said.
However, the Chairman of the UNIOSUNTH Governing Board, Niyi Owolade, said the dispute would be resolved through further discussions with the unions.
Owolade said the board had approved the PPP arrangement following authorisation from the Osun State Government, but stressed that discussions on its implementation had not been concluded.
“The board came into the conclusion after an approval by the governor that we should have a Public Private Partnership and we have started the discussion but not yet completed the discussion,” he said.
Owolade said the PPP model was already being used in some major hospitals in Nigeria, including facilities in Ife and Ibadan.
“We are meeting with the unions next week. The issue will be resolved next week,” he said.
UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital Workers Threaten Indefinite Strike Over PPP Plan
