Lagos doctors raise fresh allegations against govt

By OLASUNKANMI AKONI

IKEJA—Dental and medical personnel working for the Lagos State Government, under the umbrella of Medical Guild, are spoiling for another showdown over what they termed ‘arbitrary deductions from salaries, non-payment of May 2012 salaries and alleged victimisation of  a principal officer of the union’.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State University College of Medicine has inducted 12 new medical doctors into the profession after the completion of their programme.

It would be recalled that Governor Babatunde Fashola recently ordered reversal of the sack of 788 medical doctors of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH and Health Service Commission, HSC, over alleged illegal strike.

In a statement by  state Chairman, Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, yesterday, the the guild said the state government “has not demonstrated strong will to resolve all outstanding issues that led to the last health sector crisis.”

Odusote added that the state government had not responded to a series of letters forwarded to relevant officers, which he said Nigerian Medical Association,NMA, and the Medical Guild had requested for meetings and mechanisms to all outstanding issues.

He condemned the current approach of the state government, which, according to him, “does  not in any way engender industrial harmony, but rather stifle the guild members by arbitrary deductions and withholding of their May salary.”

Odusote said the state government “has adopted measures to stifle our members by arbitrary deductions in April salary, withholding May salary, forcing only doctors to fill daily activity reports and victimisation of a principal medical officer who had a verbal altercation with a locum doctor.

Odusote added that the government “is yet to invite  NMA or the guild to any meeting to look into these issues. The only correspondence from government was to inform us about a committee it set up to review wages of health workers.

”We, however, do not know the composition of this committee, neither have we received any correspondence from the committee.”

He urged all  well-meaning Lagosians and stakeholders who intervened to resolve the last crisis to prevail on the state government “to do the needful by initiating a process of resolving all the outstanding issues once and for all, while we on our part will do all that is necessary to preserve industrial peace in the health sector.”