• Urge health workers to take legal action 

PHARMACISTS, under the aegis of the Pharmaceuti- cal Society of Nigeria (PSN), have condemned the threat by medical doctors under the umbrella of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), to begin a nationwide strike on July I, 2014, if their 24 demands were not met. 

PSN President, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, while speaking with journalists in Lagos yesterday, urged health workers; under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and its labour allies, to "immediately proceed to the appropriate arbitration courts to seek judicial re-dress if government proceeds to dialogue with any unlawful group in trade disputes from now on in the health sector." 

The PSN president also urged government to ignore the threats of the NMA and advised it to pursue any legitimate demand in line with due process. 

Akintayo said: "The PSN has noted with some concern recent pronouncement of the leadership of NMA at a press conference in Abu]a where it gave some conditions precedent to avert a nationwide strike of doctors in Nigeria." Akintayo blamed the government for the attitude of medical doctors and their frequent strikes. He explained: "The PSN puts on record once again that it is government at all levels that creates undisguised incentives to the NMAand its allies to continue to serve strike notices. It is common knowledge the NMA, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and similar platforms, are professional groups and, therefore, cannot legitimately assume the responsibilities of Trade Unions, which engage government in labour disputes. 

"Rather than government tackling this aberration frontally once and for all, it continues to legitimise the illegality of these medical groups through unlawful di-alogues and negotiations. 

This has strengthened successive leaderships of these groups to exploit the gaffes in the system to infringe on the rights of lawful stake-holders in Nigeria. The PSN, therefore, urges government to ignore the threats of the NMA and advise it to pursue any legitimate demand in line with· due process." Akintayo said the resistance of doctors to approval of consultancy status for qualified members of the health team is laced with abysmal ignorance. "It is baffling that people who mouth international best practices stand on hypocritical platitudes that expanding the consultancy frontIer, can create chaos in hospitals. The logical question to ask is why does it not create chaos in other climes?," ',he said. 

Rather than continue to pursue an unfashionable and unconscionable egocen- tric agenda, the PSN President advised NMA to embrace rational logic to champion a cause that promotes the maintenance of ethical and professional latitudes in the team, as it affects the various consultants in different callings. 

Akintayo said the NMA must realise that the order has changed albeit progressively forever just like yesterday's traditional housewives are chief executive officers (CEOs) of multinational firms in the global arena. 

He said the PSN, on its part, would facilitate responsible and professionally driven consultancy outputs that place premium on skills and competence on all health professionals in an orderly and responsible setting. 

Akintayo urged governmerit to keep faith with the  Memorandum of Under-standing and agreements at its recent parley of June 5, 2014, which the NMA is apparently reacting to.

By Chukwuma Muanya 

Guardian