Protesting junior health
workers in Bayelsa State civil service have shut down all the major Ebola virus disease surveillance centers established by the state as they demand their unpaid promotion arrears and allowances.
The health workers, under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions in the State, took to the streets of Yenagoa and declared a three-day warning strike to demand for payment of outstanding promotion arrears and allowances.
The strike action paralyzed activities at state and federal owned hospitals used as designated Ebola Virus Surveillance centres by the State government including the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa and the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri.
The state government had two days ago announced the establishment of 103 surveillance centres to tackle any outbreak of Ebola virus in the state.
The announcement, however sparked controversies amongst residents who argued the rationale behind the setting up of such centres, especially as no case of Ebola virus had been established in the state.
Although no such centres exist anywhere in the state according to The Tide investigations but officials of the State Ministry of Health claimed the strike action would not affect the Ebola Virus surveillance activities of the designated centres,
Already the strike action of the junior health workers and the five weeks strike by doctors had paralyzed medical services in the State.
At the physiotherapy department of the Federal Medical Centre, patients were forced out of the complex by representatives of the various health unions who locked up the facility.
Also, hundreds of patients were dismissed at the General Out Patients Department where consultant physicians were rendering skeletal services. Some critically ill patients on admission who were managed by consultants and nurses were also ejected.
According to a relation of an ejected patient, Moses Salo, “This is one strike too many, first the members of Nigerian Medical Association and now the other categories of health workers are joining them.  It is very pathetic that no one cares for the interest of patients. My mother has been under intensive care and managed by the consultants who are not part of the strike, but this time around even the nurses and others have started their own.”
“It is so bad that this is happening because my mother was referred to this place because the private hospital I took her to lacked expertise to handle the ailment, where do we go from here?” Moses Salo lamented.
Mr Simon Bernabas, Coordinator of the Joint Health Sector Unions at FMC, Yenagoa said that the various unions were compelled to embark on the indefinite strike after a three day warning strike. in June.
He said that the refusal of FMC, Yenagoa to pay promotion arrears and other outstanding allowances currently being enjoyed at other Federal Medical Centres made the strike inevitable. .
When contacted, the Chief Medical Director of FMC,Yenagoa Dr Ebitimi Etebu said that the outstanding arrears of allowance was due to funding shortfall.
“The strike is malicious because it is a national thing, we have explained to the workers that funds to pay them is not with us here and that they will be paid. But they just held a meeting and went on demonstrations on the streets, the management is not part of that, they are on their own,” Etebu said.