By A dispute over a proposed Public-Private Partnership at Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, escalated on Thursday when protesting staff disrupted a Governing Board meeting, while hospital management pushed back against claims that the arrangement amounts to privatisation.
Workers Storm Board Meeting
Protesting staff at the teaching hospital stormed the administrative building on Thursday, disrupting a Governing Board meeting chaired by Niyi Owolade.
The meeting ended abruptly as demonstrators, who had gathered in opposition to plans to bring in private management of laboratory services, chanted solidarity songs to press their demands until the board members were forced out.
The protest was organised by members of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Medical Health Workers Union, Non-Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association and Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, five unions that came together under a body called the Joint Action Committee of Unions.
The workers threatened to down tools entirely if their demands go unmet.
Workers’ Grievances
Speaking on behalf of the protesting unions, Olumide Faniran said the central complaint was a lack of transparency around the Memorandum of Understanding management had signed with prospective partners for the PPP arrangement.
“Actually, the agitation is over a Public-Private Partnership, PPP, which the leadership of the teaching hospital is embarking on. When you are undertaking something of that nature, you carry stakeholders along. The reverse is the case here.
On this issue, we have been engaging the management to avail us with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), but unfortunately, we have not been given that opportunity,” Faniran said.
He said the unions had reached an understanding with management just days earlier that the status quo would be maintained, only to learn that interviews had already taken place for workers meant to staff a new private laboratory, despite the hospital’s existing lab reportedly generating more than 100 percent revenue.
“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 (Wednesday) for the intended workers they want to engage for the private laboratory.
They want to set up a private laboratory when we already have our own laboratory that is generating over 100 per cent revenue. The little lacuna they are now stressing is their own fault. They are asking why we failed to produce consumables and reagents,” he said.
Faniran also pointed to longstanding tension between doctors and other health professionals as part of the backdrop to the dispute, alleging that the PPP plan would spare doctors while affecting other categories of hospital staff.
“Another issue is the age-long rivalry between the doctors and other health professionals. It has been on the ground for over 10 years now, and they want to privatise all other health workers except the doctors. In response, unions outside the medical profession formed a union called the Joint Action Committee of Unions.
It comprises the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Medical Health Workers Union, Non-Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association and Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals. The five unions that comprise all workers in the institution came together and deliberated,” he said.
Faniran described a frustrating sequence of events on the day of the protest, when a scheduled 10am meeting with the board was abruptly cancelled hours later.
“This morning, we were told that we would have a meeting with the board by 10 am. We converged at 10 am, only to be told around 2:30 pm that they were not interested in seeing us, and that we should forward our position to them and that they would call us later. We said this is an aberration. You wrote to the union for a meeting slated for 10 am, only to be telling us at 2:30 pm that we should send our position paper,” he said.
He said the unions ultimately resolved at a congress meeting to embark on the peaceful protest, which ended up forcing the board out of its own meeting.
Strike Threat Looms
Faniran said workers were firmly opposed to any Public-Private Partnership, arguing instead that existing staff should be better deployed to deliver hospital services. He warned that accepting the PPP arrangement would effectively cripple multiple hospital departments beyond just the laboratory.
“Indirectly, they want to cripple our own services in the hospital. If we accept Public-Private Partnership, that means we are crippling the laboratory,” he said, adding that departments including Radiology, ICU, Morgue, Kitchen and Security would also be affected.
He confirmed the unions were prepared to begin a strike on Monday if their demands were not met, noting that a 14-day ultimatum previously issued to management was set to expire by 11:59pm on Sunday.
Board Chairman Responds
Governing Board chairman Niyi Owolade, when contacted, expressed confidence that the disagreement would be resolved and said the board remained open to further engagement with union representatives.
“We are meeting with the unions next week. The issue will be resolved next week. The board came to the conclusion, after approval by the governor, that we should have a Public Private Partnership, and we have started the discussion; it’s not yet completed the discussion.
There is nothing special; they have to be well-educated about it,” Owolade said, noting that similar arrangements already exist at teaching hospitals in Ife, Ibadan and elsewhere in the country. “This is not the first place where PPP will be implemented. They have started in Ife, Ibadan. Most teaching hospitals in Nigeria have PPP. There is no much ado about it,” he said.
Management Denies Privatisation Claims
In a separate rejoinder issued Thursday, UNIOSUNTH management firmly denied any plan to privatise departments at the hospital, insisting the arrangement is a Public-Private Partnership designed to strengthen capacity, bring in modern equipment, ensure steady supply of reagents and consumables, and ultimately improve patient care.
Management said the PPP had been formally approved by the Osun State Government and was never intended to sell off any hospital department.
It pointed to similar models already operating at leading teaching hospitals in Ife, Ibadan and other parts of the country, and gave assurances that the hospital’s laboratory would remain functional throughout.
On the question of job security, management insisted no staff would be sacked or displaced as a result of the partnership.
“Instead, the partnership will create more opportunities for training, better working tools and improved service conditions. Staff welfare remains paramount to this Management,” the statement read.
Management also disputed the unions’ characterisation of the interviews conducted for laboratory staff, describing the exercise as “a routine manpower needs assessment, as part of ongoing discussions,” and stressing that “no private laboratory has been established and discussions on the PPP are still ongoing and inconclusive.”
The hospital appealed directly to the Joint Action Committee of Unions not to proceed with a shutdown, warning that any industrial action would primarily hurt patients, many of whom come from less privileged backgrounds.
“We assure the good people of Osun State that UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital remains fully opened and committed to providing quality, affordable and uninterrupted healthcare services,” the statement concluded.
