The National Industrial Court sitting in Ibadan has ordered the immediate reinstatement of Mrs Caroline Adedire and 107 other employees of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, OAUTHC, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The court also declared the termination of their appointments unlawful.
Delivering judgment, the Presiding Judge, Justice Dele Peters, held that the termination of the employees’ appointments through a circular issued on January 31, 2024, was grossly irregular and violated the provisions of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Boards etc,) Act, 2013.
The court declared that Mrs Caroline Adedire and the 107 affected workers remained bona fide employees of OAUTHC and were entitled to all salaries, emoluments, benefits and rights attached to their respective positions.
Justice Peters ordered the OAUTHC Management Board to reinstate the workers to the positions they occupied as of 31 January 2024 and directed the hospital to compute and pay all outstanding salaries and entitlements owed to them from the date of the termination until the date of judgment.
The court also awarded costs of N500,000 against the defendant.
The claimants, led by Mrs Caroline Adedire and five others acting on behalf of 108 employees, had approached the court in a representative capacity, challenging the termination of their appointments.
They told the court that they had resumed duties in their various departments and had received salaries and allowances for about a year before payments suddenly ceased.
According to the claimants, they later learnt through a circular that their appointments were considered irregular because they allegedly exceeded the waiver approved by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
In its defence, the OAUTHC Management Board argued that the appointments exceeded the scope of the approval granted by the Head of Service and maintained that the directive of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare to cancel the appointments was necessary to address the irregularities.
Counsel for the defendant argued that the minister’s directive effectively terminated the employment relationship and contended that the claimants were not entitled to salaries because they had not rendered services since January 2024.
The claimants, however, maintained that the board failed to comply with the provisions of the University Teaching Hospitals Act before terminating their employment.
They argued that the circular issued on January 31, 2024 was unlawful, unconstitutional and contrary to the contract of employment between both parties.
In his judgment, Justice Peters held that none of the documents presented before the court indicated that the employment of Mrs Adedire and the other workers was subject to the discretion or pleasure of the Minister of Health or any other authority.
“The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Management Board is a creation of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Board Etc) Act,” the judge stated.
He added that the board was empowered to function independently within the framework of the law.
The court ruled that any failure by the board to comply with internal requirements relating to employment waivers was an internal administrative matter and that the affected workers should not suffer for actions in which they played no role.
Justice Peters also held that the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Board Etc) Act did not confer disciplinary powers or control over OAUTHC employees on the Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
He declared that the cancellation of the appointments by the minister “unlawful, null and void” for contravening the provisions of the Act.
