Activities at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital were yesterday halted as the strike action embarked upon by joint Action Committee (JAC) entered its sixth day.

JAC is an umbrella body of the staff  unions of the hospital, including Senior Staff Association, Pharmaceutical Union Association of Nurses and Midwives and Non Academic Staff Union.

However, doctors, consultants and resident doctors were on ground attending to patients.

The Herald reliably gathered that the hospital staff downed tools, following the failure of the management of the hospital to honour its agreement of ensuring regular promotion of workers.

Investigations by The Herald yesterday also revealed that the unions have threatened not to resume work until their demands are met.

A source told The Herald that the Joint Action Committee would not bow to pressure from any quarters, asking the UITH to resolve the matter on time.

But the Assistant Director, Corporate Affairs of UITH, Alhaji Oba Hassan Kadir, told The Herald yesterday that the industrial action is not peculiar to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, but a nationwide phenomenon.

He said the strike was precipitated by a myriad of problems, which include regular promotion and shift allowance.

The UITH image maker denied that the hospital activities had been grounded as a result of the strike action.

He said, "The strike is not peculiar to Ilorin Teaching Hospital, it is a general strike by other sister teaching hospitals across the country.

"The hospital is not paralyzed because as you know, we are dealing with human beings.

"Naturally, you don’t expect our patients to be suffering. So we have doctors, consultants, and resident doctors on their duty post.

"For now, we are not taking new patients in our accident and emergency wards. But in case of serious medical problems, we have consultants, resident doctors and of course post basic nursing staff so that the activities are not paralysed."