By Desire Emmanuel
The National Industrial Court has ruled that the Minister of Health has no power to terminate the employment of university teaching hospital staff, saying the power rests solely on respective board of teaching hospitals.
Justice Dele Peters of the Ibadan Division of the court gave the ruling on Thursday in an employment termination case brought by 108 staff of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital who were relieved of their duties through a circular dated 31st January 2024.
The judge described the termination as grossly irregular, unlawful and in violation of the express provision of the University Teaching Hospital (Reconstitution of Boards) Act 2013.
The judge stated that the sacked staff are still bona fide employees of the teaching hospital and by reason thereof, they are entitled to their salaries, emoluments, benefits, rights, and entitlements due and ascribe to their respective positions.
Justice Dele Peters also ordered the teaching hospital management board to immediately compute and pay the 108 staff their respective remunerations and entitlements from the 31st January 2024 till the date of the judgment with payment of N500,000 as cost of action.
According to court documents, the 108 employees of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital submitted that they resumed duties in their different offices with their salaries and allowances paid for about one year before their salaries and allowances suddenly stopped.
They said they eventually learnt through a circular that their employment was irregular because it was in excess of the waiver allowed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
In defence, the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Management Board averred that the validity of their employment was beyond the approval by the Head of Service and that the Minister of Health’s directive to cancel their employment was necessary to correct the irregularities in the employment process.
The hospital further posited that the cancellation of their employment, as directed by the Minister of Health, effectively terminated their employment relationship; that they had not worked for the hospital since January 2024; that it is trite that no work, no pay and they cannot claim salaries for services not rendered.
Opposing the argument, counsel to the 108 employees posited that the teaching hospital failed to comply with the provisions of the University Teaching Hospitals Act and that failure of the Board to comply with statutory provisions before terminating their employment rendered the same null, void and unconstitutional.
The counsel also stated that the circular issued by the hospital board was unlawful and contrary to the Contract of Employment between the parties. Delivering judgment, Justice Peters held that none of the exhibits tendered before the court indicated that the 108 staff offers were at the pleasure of the Minister or anybody, for that matter.
He stated that the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Management Board is a creation of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Board) Act, and conferred with powers to have a mind of its own, and the court was not informed that the 108 staff had any role to play in ensuring that the teaching hospital management board complied with some internal requirements to solidify their employment.
He held that the alleged failure of the management board to act within the number in an alleged waiver was an internal matter, and that the disengaged staff must not be made to suffer for what they knew nothing about.
The judge further said that nowhere in the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Board) Act says that a power is conferred on the Minister of Health to exercise any disciplinary powers or control over the employees of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital.
He therefore declared the cancellation of the employment of the 108 staff by the Minister of Health as unlawful, null and void, having violated the provisions of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Board) Act, 2013.
