Interns working for the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) on Monday protested the non-payment of their 11 months salaries.
According to the interns, the total salaries owed them would amount to about N480 million.
However, their protest is in opposition to a warning one of them told Vanguard was issued by the Department of State Service (DSS).
According to the intern, Shadrach Atheodor, quoted by the media, “We are not here to fight or make problem, our emphasis is that we should be paid.
“I was invited to the DSS Office yesterday, they told us not to do any peaceful protest, the DSS has tried their best but if the management did the needful, We won’t be gathered here today”.
“We have written several memos to the CMD but he has not acknowledged any of the memos, he has refused to respond. We are crying for our Salaries,” he said.
Another intern, Gideon Duba, explained that the UCTH is owing them eleven months and whenever they try engaging the management for their payments the management keeps saying it is a national issue.
Gideon claimed that the UCTH has severely used the police to intimidate them.
According to him:” We keep on engaging the management, but they say we are disturbing, we have worked and asked for our salary but they say we are disturbing that we are causing security threats.
“A memo was released on the 2nd of August, placing us on a one-month suspension, to allow for the resolving of the issue. Up until now, nothing has been done.
“They said we should write an apology letter, we have done so, yet, no solution. The management is not sincere in this whole thing.
“We are 352, we are owed over 480 million naira and when you open up, they will call the security agency to come after you.
“We are being enslaved, we call on the federal government, the EFCC, Minister of health, to please look into this issue.”
