The Medical Guild wishes to inform you about the situation with respect to issues we had raised with the Lagos State administration.

 

The issues are specifically; the continued engagement of doctors as casual workers,(young doctors just commencing employment, with no career path); the suspension of the training of resident doctors in the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (LASUTH); and the retrospective and selective application of the administration’s ‘no work, no pay’ policy to members of the Guild.

 

The Guild had been in discussion with the administration on these issues for more than two (2) years, following a strike in April and May 2012 when the ‘no work, no pay’ policy was applied to members of the Guild, in spite of the fact that the circular backing the policy was written two (2) months after the strike action.

 

The administration also commenced the employment of young doctors as casual workers, and suspended the employment of doctors into the residency training program in LASUTH.

 

The ‘no work, no pay’ policy was not applied to any of the groups, ASUU; ASUP; The teachers Union; the magistrates; workers in the judiciary; and the Joint Health Sector Unions, (JOHESU) who embarked on strike between May 2012 and July 2014, with many of the strikes lasting far longer than the Guild strike. 

 

It was however applied again when members of the Guild joined a national strike of the Nigerian Medical Association in July and August 2014.

 

We had been appealing to the administration to look into this, and the other issues raised, and we went to exhaustive lengths to seek resolution of the administrations’ selective action by appeals and advocacy, all to no avail.

 

 

It appeared as if the administration intended to push the Guild into a strike, a situation we wanted to avoid as we believed such an action would only affect the less priviledged and the general public, whom we serve.

 

We launched an extensive media campaign and organized public rallies, all in a bid to bring the matters to the notice of the public.

 

All our efforts to avoid a strike, (which have been on for six (6) months) failed to move the administration, and eventually we were forced to issue an ultimatum for industrial action on the 29th of December 2014.

 

The administrations’ first response to our extensive campaign came seventy-two hours before our ultimatum was to expire, when we were invited to meetings and given assurances that the matter would be satisfactorily resolved.

 

We presented this to a general meeting of the Guild on the 18th of January 2015, and the meeting gave the directive, responsible in our opinion, to extend the ultimatum by another four (4) weeks.

 

In spite of communication on our part with the authorities, for information regarding progress towards resolution of these issues, we were given little information, and the issues remain unresolved.

 

An emergency general meeting of the Guild on Sunday 15th February 2015, examined the foregoing, and directed that a 3-day warning strike to press home these demands, should commence at 8:00am Wednesday 18th February 2015.

 

It is our belief that the government holds the doctors hostage, and indirectly holds the people hostage.

 

In the interest of the public, whom we serve, emergency services will be provided during the action.

 

Signed:

Dr ‘Biyi Kufo

Chairman