Oyo workers resume, government urges compliance with COVID-19 protocols

Governor Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde of Oyo State 

• UCH staff protest non-payment of their hazard allowances

Civil and public servants on Grade Level 12 and below in Oyo State resumed work yesterday following the directive of the state government after a three-month stay-at-home order as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main gate of the secretariat, which had been shut following the closure of the complex, was reopened for activities.

Some of the workers, who spoke with The Guardian, said they were happy to return back to work after almost three months of staying at home.

They promised to be committed to their duties.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs. Ololade Agboola, has urged all civil servants in the state to comply strictly with coronavirus guidelines as they resume in their various offices.

In a statement yesterday, the Head of Service admonished the workers to adhere strictly to the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In another development, some members of staff of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, have staged a peaceful protest at the office of the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Jesse Otegbayo.

The protesters demanded their 50 per cent share of the COVID-19 hazard allowance.

They said that they also deserve an equal share like the doctors who get paid 50 per cent of their basic salary.

Some of the low-level members of staff like security, attendants and others, who get paid 10 per cent and 20 per cent in some cases, said that they were more exposed than the doctors as they are the first point of contact with most of the patients when they arrive at the hospital.

They urged the Federal Government to implement the COVID-19 hazard allowances agreement for all medical workers without giving preferential treatment to medical doctors and leaving out other workers.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UCH, Mr. Toye Aderinlola, who spoke with The Guardian, said: “Nobody is fighting for not collecting allowances. What they can be saying was that some received 50 per cent and others 10 per cent. But if it is for allowances, as far as we are concerned, the government has paid what it wanted to pay to all categories of health workers. Maybe they are channelling their agitation to Abuja. It is not UCH, it is the Federal Government. We never had a role in it. It is Abuja that pays.”