konga Ad Campaign konga Ad Campaign konga Ad Campaign
ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Monday, July 4, 2022
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • #PandoraPapers
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • #PandoraPapers
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Patient receiving attentive care. [PHOTO: LUTH]

Patient receiving attentive care. [PHOTO: LUTH]

At Lagos teaching hospital, workers mistreated for years get pay cut despite coronavirus risk

byYusuf AkinpeluandAbdulkareem Mojeed
May 23, 2020
6 min read

In 2009 when John Ola landed a job as a contract staff at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), his take-home pay was ₦15,000.

Not someone that keeps quiet when not pleased, he and his fellow domestic workers soon demanded a pay rise. They got it in 2011, and it would remain at ₦20,000 for another nine years.

Mr Ola, a father of three, and his colleagues kept pushing for more. Not only did this win him foes on the hospital’s management side, it denied him a chance to be made permanent staff. But he did not flinch.

A breakthrough came his way March this year, a day after a protest on March 13, the date on which they were paid for February.

“We are always paid the salary of the previous month in the middle of the next month,” he said.

By April 2, with the protest still fresh in mind, they got their pay for March, this time it had been upped to ₦30,000. They were very happy, Mr Ola recalled, but it would last for that month alone as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world.

They were anticipating April pay when their employers invited them to a meeting. Mr Ola could not make the meeting, but his colleague, Chinedu Festus, 21, did.

At the meeting, Mr Festus said they were told coronavirus has diminished the hospital’s revenue due to low patient inflow caused by the closure of numerous sections of the hospital.

They were given two options: either half of them are laid off or their newly introduced ₦30,000 is cut by half. That would take them back to the 2009 rate.

“None of these was an option for us. Work hasn’t reduced, why would pay reduce?” Mr Festus said. But his objection did not matter. Their pay for April paid this month was ₦15,000.

Zero benefits

Domestic staff like Mr Ola, about 2,000 of them, are employees of LUTH Initiative Limited, the private wing of LUTH, established by its management to give high-end medical services to patients who can pay more. The management also uses them to keep the hospital running when, for instance, permanent staff go on strike.

Ironically, while these staff work to get the nation well, they are amongst some of the poorest paid public workers in the country.

They are not listed for benefits beyond the meagre salaries and their employment terms are vague with no official accepting responsibility. The LUTH Initiative website says the unit is headed by a neurosurgeon who reports to the chief medical director of the hospital, but the CMD, when reached by PREMIUM TIMES, claimed only the board of the hospital could comment.

Interviews with several workers portrayed an exploitative arrangement in which the domestic staff are not treated as a staff of the hospital but as casual workers with little or no bargaining power to negotiate their fate.

READ ALSO: Groups ask Imo government to recall suspended journalist

Based on PREMIUM TIMES assessment, the least the workers have spent in the company is four years. Some have spent 13 years, yet, they have had a very sluggish pay rise: ₦15,000 in 2009; ₦20,000 in 2011; and ₦30,000 in 2020; and now, ₦15,000.

All the staff who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said they are neither on any salary grade level nor do they get periodical pay increment, except by protests, which they hardly try.

“We are not paid leave allowance if we ever go on leave. No free medical treatment is extended to us,” said Onu Chidi, another domestic staff. “The worst is the exclusion from contributing to the national pension commission which is compulsory for all workers to rely on at old age,” another staff said.

The staff said they never received insurance, hazard allowance, health insurance or any other allowance whatsoever. But they cannot speak out because they fear retribution. Those who spoke for this report agreed their names be changed for this reason.

More risk, less pay

If it becomes law, an amendment to the Labour Act in the House of Representatives would criminalise casualisation of workers for more than six months. A maximum of ₦2 million or imprisonment of two years or both is the proposed penalty for the director of defaulting companies.

Also, the Pension Reform Act 2014 mandates public and private employers (with more than 15 workers) and the employees to respectively contribute a minimum of 10 per cent and eight per cent of employees’ salary to a pension scheme account run by the pension commission every month.

Tajudeen Olatunji, the president of the Lagos State chapter of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), said the LUTH Initiative is capitalising on the high rate of unemployment in the country to exploit these staff. “Nobody with right thinking sense will take this kind of offers,” he added.

With the coronavirus risks, allowances promised to healthcare workers in Lagos are not extended to these workers. They feel disappointed that they are not getting any kind of recognition for what they are doing.

One of them is Shehu Yusuf, 34, who works as an oxygen attendant in the engineering department of the hospital.

The father of four had been on the job for 13 years. Despite “risking our lives every day to save people from the virus,” he said, “all we get is pittance at the time of a pandemic.”

In a recent example, Hannah Emmanuel, 40, was quarantined for two weeks after five doctors, some of whom she and seven other domestic workers had had contact with, contracted coronavirus.

“I was very afraid. It was only God that saved me,” she said, wondering how she would have coped had she had the virus with her two children to cater for.

Ms Emmanuel works in the labour ward. Her job is to clear and clean the ward. She said she was part of the team that delivered a 68-year-old mother of her baby in LUTH last month.

“They may be at the base of the power pyramid, but they’re also at COVID-19 risk,” tweeted Fisayo Soyombo, a journalist who blew the pay cut whistle at the time. “They clean the wards — all the blood & fluids in the theatre and the wards. They clear all the waste products.”

Mrs Emmanuel said despite her job prescription, she buys protective clothing like face masks herself, a claim made by five other workers. The cut on their salaries to ₦15,000 is unfair, they said.

“Things are not quite easy for us,” Ms Emmanuel said. “I buy a face mask (myself).”

Like her, Dennis Daniel, 32, said he is drowning in financial woes.

In his fourth year as a porter in the hospital, he said a pay cut at “this time is devastating.”

This is so because, on transportation alone, he spends about ₦500 daily from his Bariga residence to Idi-Araba, where LUTH is located. This means at the end of each month, he would have spent half his ₦30,000 salary on transportation.

But now that his transport fare is equal to his salary, he cannot but despair. With his 9-year-old daughter also to cater for and his debt already high, Mr Daniel said he barely feeds twice a day.

“They use us like machines. We are humans. We have not seen a single cent as an allowance,” he said.

“In the hospital, contracting the virus is easy. Some of my doctor friends have it. They have insurance but we don’t. We are done for.”

Dodgy officials

Three representatives of the LUTH Initiative eluded requests for comment. One of them whose contact is on the company’s letterhead identified as John by Truecaller responded rudely over the phone before he hung the call.

“Oga, go and call CMD. Don’t call my number again,” he said.

The chairman, medical advisory committee, Lanre Adeyemo, also declined comment. He directed all comments to the CMD.

The chief medical director of the hospital, Chris Bode, on Tuesday, said the workers are not LUTH staff and he could not comment on behalf of the company.

He added that the company works on a “hire and fire” basis, and it does not report to him but to the board of LUTH.

“They do not work for LUTH. They work in LUTH,” he said, adding that they do not also have contact with frontline health workers.

Contrary to what Mr Chris said, however, information on the company’s website shows that the coordinator of LUTH Initiatives, presently Femi Bankole, reports directly to the Chief Medical Director of LUTH.

On Thursday, Mr Chris declined further comments.

“LUTH Initiatives is shrouded in secrecy,” a LUTH resident doctor who spoke under strict anonymity, told PREMIUM TIMES.

She said the hospital’s management is “taking advantage of the unemployment in the country to hire with no rules, no regulations, no strict code of conduct. They just do as they wish.”

Meanwhile, workers like Mr Ola and Mr Yusuf have “side hustles” apart from the “pittance” they get as domestic staff. So they say they could afford to walk away from the job anytime.

But there are others who have nowhere to turn. For them, as they run from contracting the virus by doing their jobs as carefully as they can, their financial woes keep catching up with them.

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket



Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999






PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

COVID-19: In Lagos Markets, There Is No Social Distancing

Next Post

INTERVIEW: How I landed lead role in ‘Halita’ – Nollywood starlet, Chisom Agoawuike

Yusuf Akinpelu

Yusuf Akinpelu

Yusuf Akinpelu is PREMIUM TIMES' Head of Data Desk. Prior to this, he covered the National Assembly and fact-checked for Dubawa. He is a graduate of Statistics from the University of Ibadan. He has a penchant for books, debates, and wildlife.

Abdulkareem Mojeed

Abdulkareem Mojeed

More News

Illustration for Zamfara insecurity: Governor’s call to arm, a recipe for anarchy

EDITORIAL: Zamfara Insecurity: Governor’s call to arm, a recipe for anarchy

July 4, 2022
Nigerian Police Officer

Gunmen abduct two Catholic priests

July 4, 2022
President Muhammadu Buhari [PHOTO CREDIT: @Buharisallau1]

FACT-CHECK: How true is Buhari’s claim that Nigeria is better off today than in 2015?

July 4, 2022
Peter Obi, Poju Oyemade, Wike and Atiku

PT State of the Race: Peter Obi’s illiberal supporters and Atiku’s tight rope

July 3, 2022
The suspected cultists arrested by Police Command in Ogun.

Police arrest three suspects over alleged rape, forceful initiation of girl into cult group

July 3, 2022
Nigeria Police officers on duty

Police arrest Miyetti Allah chieftain, former councillor for alleged kidnapping

July 3, 2022
Next Post
Chisom Agoawuike is the lead actor in the popular Nigerian TV drama series, Halita

INTERVIEW: How I landed lead role in ‘Halita’ - Nollywood starlet, Chisom Agoawuike

Yahaya Bello [PHOTO: Twitter @Yahayabello]

Tribunal dismisses Wada's petition, affirms Bello as Kogi governor

Leave Comment

Search

AUN-PT Ad




Access Bank Ad







Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 13,453 other subscribers.

Advertisement




netherland biz school Advert



ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • #PandoraPapers
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
  • Opinion
  • The Membership Club
  • DONATE
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • PT Hausa
  • Dubawa NG
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.