By George Okojie & By Wale Adepoju

 

The Lagos State Government has threatened to enforce no-work-no-pay policy on members of the Medical Guild who have embarked on an indefinite strike in the state to press home demands for their payment of outstanding four months salaries.

 

The state government in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, said the current action was illegal.

  

“On previous occasion, the doctors went on what they called a “sympathy strike” at the request of their professional association, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) which then had a dispute with the Federal Government. They had no trade dispute with the State Government (their employer),” he said, adding that doctors in private employment, who are also members of the NMA, did not join the so-called ‘sympathy strike.’

 

According to him, it is a fact that those health workers who did not work during the stated period were not paid.

 

“This “no work no pay rule” is not just a policy of the State Government as alleged. It is in line with international employment practices and the Trade Disputes Act, a federal legislation, which is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria. For the avoidance of doubt, section 43(1)(a) of the Trade Disputes Act provides that:

 

“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law, where any worker takes part in a strike, he shall not be entitled to any wages or other remuneration for the period of the strike, and any such period shall not count for the purpose of reckoning the period of continuous employment and all rights dependent on continuity of employment shall be prejudicially affected accordingly,” he said.

 

The commissioner added that apart from the demands of law, the law also accords with common sense.

 

“It is noteworthy that the State Government pays salaries using taxpayers’ money. Using funds contributed by taxpayers to pay persons who deprived the same taxpayers of care and caused them untold suffering and death is not only in contravention of law, it further goes against the dictates of good conscience,” he said, adding that the strike took place when Ebola Virus Disease hit Lagos. It was foreign doctors and volunteers that came to our aid to start the process of combating the virus in a commendable humanitarian gesture. It was, therefore, imperative that allowances be paid to them, rather than to doctors who chose to stay off their duty posts during a period of such national health emergency despite several entreaties made to them,” he said.

 

He said it was not true that representatives of the governor had refused to meet with the doctors over the dispute.

 

“ The governor did in fact meet with their leadership and that had been followed by several meetings with the commissioner for Health, Commissioner  for Special Duties and other state officials in relevant administrative positions right up to the last weekend. It is, therefore, clear that conformity with a national law cannot form the basis of yet another strike,” he said and advised the doctors to resume their respective duty positions while discussions with the state government are ongoing.

 

He said government was committed to the continuance of health services to its teeming masses and would do all in its power to ensure that public health institutions continued to function and that it would protect health workers who were willing to work.

 

Patients’ care was hampered Monday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Gbagada General Hospital, and Igando General Hospital, Igando, among others as striking doctors under the umbrella of Medical Guild continue their indefinite strike in the state.

 

The association vowed to continue the strike until the government accede to their demand and pay their salaries for April and May, 2012 as well as August and September, last year. 

 

Its chairman Dr. Biyi Kufo said doctors should be paid because they must obey the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), who declared the strike for which they are being owed. Besides, we did not also receive salary for August and September last year for same reason.

 

The government, he said, is playing lip service about the health of the people. He said doctors will remain resolute until the salaries are paid. “What the government is doing is double standards and we will resist it,” he said.

 

Kufo berated the government for compiling names of doctors who complied with the strike directives. He said every worker has a right to say no to injustice and poor welfare.

 

The Lagos State Medical Guild chair alleged that the government was against the welfare of medical doctors, adding that the state refused to heed the call of well-meaning people to resolve the pay dispute.

 

Source:

Nation, Leadership