Again, crisis looms as Lagos doctors begin strike

Again, crisis looms as Lagos doctors begin strike

Doctors in the employ of the Lagos State Government have begun a three-day
warning strike.
They also warned that if the authorities did not meet their demands, which
include the payment of their May 2012 as well as August/September 2014
salaries by March 4, they would embark on a full-scale action.
The state Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Bisi Kufo, made this known on
Tuesday in Lagos.
He also accused the state government of being partial with its ‘no work, no pay’
policy, especially as it withheld doctors’ salaries following a strike called by the
Nigerian Medical Association.
The NMA embarked on nationwide strike last July to protest issues of relativity
and other federal appointments in the health sector
However, on Tuesday, Kufo, while frowning on the discriminatory policy in the
state, alleged that other health workers under the auspices of the Joint Health
Sector Union received their salaries despite the fact that they embarked on strike
last December and January.
He stated, “The ‘no work, no pay’ policy has not been applied to the Academic
Staff Union of Universities, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, teachers union,
workers in the judiciary; and the Joint Health Sector Union. Some of the groups
recently embarked on industrial actions with their protests lasting longer than ours
did, yet they all received their salaries.
“It is our belief that if the government holds the doctors hostage, it is indirectly
holding the people hostage. We have been appealing to the administration to look
into this, among other issues, and we have sought at great length to resolve this
via appeals and advocacy, all to no avail.
“It appears that the administration intends to push the guild to go on a strike, a
situation we want to avoid because we believe such an action will only affect the
less-privileged and other members of the public, whom we serve.
“All our efforts to avoid a strike failed to move the administration, and eventually
we were forced to issue an ultimatum for industrial action on December 29,
2014.”
Besides, the Lagos doctors are kicking against the casualisation of doctors in the
state.
According to the Vice-President of the Guild, Dr. Saliu Oseni, the trend can lead
to shortage of specialists in the state-owned hospitals as well as frustrate the
treatment of patients who need such medical expertise.
Oseni added, “The residency training programme at the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital has been truncated following the continual employment of
doctors as casual workers.
“When a doctor is employed on contract basis, he/she will have no training or
career path because his/her appointment can be terminated at any time.
“It takes, at least, six years to train a specialist, how do you train a doctor who
has just six months contract with his/her employer to become a cardiologist?
“There is going to be a dearth of medical experts, if the government continues
with this trend instead of recruiting resident doctors who will be in its employ for
at least five years, after which they would have the required expertise.”
Meanwhile, the fresh industrial action by the Lagos doctors is coming a few
weeks after other health workers in the state suspended their warning strike over
issues bordering on remuneration.
However, Governor Babatunde Fashola has appealed to the doctors and other
health workers in the state not to see strike as a means of settling dispute with
the government.
According to him, the frequent strikes by health professionals in the country have
endangered the lives of many Nigerians over the years.
The governor, who spoke at the State Council on Health meeting on Tuesday,
urged them to remember that they offer essential and life saving services to
humanity.
Emphasising the role health workers play, Fashola said they were the only
professionals privy to health matters of the old and young and therefore they
should not abuse such privileges.
The governor said, “Doctors, physicians are the only set of professionals that we
open up to both physically and emotionally without being embarrassed. If you
have had relationship with multiple partners, though it is your social life, but you
must tell your doctor, should he/she ask about it, because our lives are in their
hands.
“They are highly-placed professionals and they should not consider strike or
withdrawal of services at anytime.”