The Chief Medical Director, Prof. Michael Ibadin, seems to
be on the unpopular side with the staff of the University of Benin Teaching
Hospital (UBTH) as they have severally accused him of maltreatment since he took
charge of the Federal Tertiary Health Institution seven years ago. He is
alleged, According to the female workers at the hospital who raised their
concerns about the trend, to have made them work under very cruel conditions
when they are pregnant that so many of the expectant staff have opted to carry
their pregnancies to course while still on the job.
One of them, a nurse who gave her name as Odion said “We
have been living under hell since Ibadin took over as CMD. Once you are
pregnant it is either you work till you are about to deliver or take a maternity
leave and not get paid,”
With the influence wielded by the CMD the staff has remained
quiet about their working conditions which go against the efforts by the United
Nations Human Rights Commission to ratify
the convention on the elimination of all of forms of discrimination against
women.
According to the some of the staff, who pleaded for
anonymity in order to safeguard their jobs, since the Ibadin-led management
took office women are asked during job application interviews if they are
pregnant and warned not to get pregnant if they are to enjoy job security. For pregnant women who come for job
interviews, they are told outright on application that they cannot get a
position in the hospital.
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| Prof. Michael Ibadin, CMD, UBTH Benin-city |
“This is not even veiled with any form of propriety or
decorum. This is even buttressed by the fact that women are asked out rightly
if they are pregnant at discussions and warned not to if they are to get in,”
one nurse said.
For those who have employment with the hospital, when they
get pregnant they are deprived of allowances such as Call duty when they are on
Maternity leave, this is at variance with the provisions of the law on benefits
that should accrue to them. Subsequently some female staff work almost to the
hour of delivery to avoid losing out on the much needed benefits.
“It has gotten worse since the economy recession started. We
now see our expectant colleagues struggling to work even when they are nine
months pregnant. On some occasions we
have had to deliver them right here in the world. It is not fair the way we are
being treated. It is not a sin for a woman to be pregnant. It is so mean that a
man is doing this to us; I don’t think if the CMD is a woman he will give this
type of directive,” Odion said.
A recent incident involved a female doctor who, out of fear,
insisted on working through her nine months of pregnancy and delivered on a
night she was on duty and even insisted on resuming a few weeks after parturition
just to forestall deductions from her emoluments on the premise and directive
of the chief executive of the hospital.
This situation has led to a situation where female staff of
the hospital who are nursing mothers are no longer able to comply with the
Exclusive breastfeeding regimen as prescribed for babies to enhance mother
-child bonding while ensuring nutrition and health of the baby.
“The observations are far from surprising considering the
fact that the current Chief Medical Director of the hospital was renowned for
threatening students on the "dangers" of pregnancy and how it would
lead to their failure in examinations especially the clinical where he was
examiner and holds the knife and the yam,” a doctor at UBTH said.
When contacted, Prof. Ibadin known for his pro- stance for
government implementing the “No Work No Pay,” refused to comment on the issue.
It seems he may have started implementing the “No Work No
Pay” policy before it even becomes law with his
belief it will help end impunity in the civil service sector in Nigeria.
With almost every
department in the hospital on strike under his tenure, Ibadin said in March
that the reason the strike action continues is because government was yet to
implement the policy.
“This impunity you are witnessing has to do with the fact
that government has not been able to implement no work, no pay. If government
implements no work, no pay, no worker will go on strike,” he said.
Rita Dominic and Joseph Benjamin lead the cast in a recently completed production of DESECRATION, a star studded cinematic thriller produced by Bode Odetoye of Kherut Films. Helming the motion picture as director is international multi-award winner, Niyi Towolawi of HekCentrik Films.
