The Lagos State Government has
dismissed the 788 doctors who participated in a three-day warning strike
between April 11 and 13 in the state.
Investigation however, revealed that
the state government is already inducting 373 doctors that will resume this week.
When our correspondent visited the Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos, on Monday,
the new doctors were attending a workshop.
The Chairman of the Medical Guild,
Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote,said on
Monday in Lagos, confirmed that the striking doctors had been sacked. He said
that the state government had given all the doctors letters of termination of
appointment for failing to reply the three letters of query and a letter of
summons asking them to appear before the personnel management board on April
24.
Odusote said, “I just received
the termination letters for doctors in LASUTH. Other doctors in other public
hospitals have received the dismissed letters signed by the chief medical
directors of their various state hospitals. It is actually dated the 4th of
April, but they sent it to our secretariat on Monday morning. takes immediate
effect. We are to vacate the premises immediately, even our secretariat.”
The letter, which was signed by Prof.
David Oke, reads, “This is to inform you that the Personnel Management Board (
Disciplinary Committee) which held between Tuesday 24th and Thursday 25th April
2012, has established a case of misconduct and absence from duty without leave
or reasonable case between Wednesday 11th and Friday 13th April 2012 against
you.
“You are also guilty of
insubordination for failing to respond to lawful queries issued to you. The
committee therefore recommends your dismissal from service.
In accordance with the provision of
the civil service rule NOS/04502/04507/04508, the board has approved your
dismissal. I, thereby convey your “DISMISSAL” from Lagos State service
effective from Friday, 4th, 2012.
By this letter, you are hereby
advised to hand over all government properties in your possession to the office
of the Chief Medical Director immediately.”
Odusote, however, said that the
Nigerian Medical Association had called for an emergency congress meeting with
the sacked doctors to decide on their next line of action.
“We are going to see the implication
of this dismissal immediately. The NMA and the Medical Guild will definitely
react to this unjust action of the Lagos State Government as it makes history
today by laying off a major workforce in its health sector.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical
Association, NMA, has threatened to shut down health services in Lagos if
government fails to retract its decision after a proposed meeting with the
state government within the next 24 hours.
Reacting to the sack shortly after an
emergency congress of the association in Lagos on Monday, the Chairman,Lagos
NMA, Dr. Temiye Edamisan, threatened that federal doctors in the state would
embark on an indefinite strike if the state government did not withdraw the
dismissal letters.
One of the newly inducted 373 doctors
who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity at the Island
Maternity Hospital on Monday, said that the state government had organised a
seminar and training session for the fresh doctors and they had also been given
letters of employment.
She said, “We have been given letters
of employment and we are set to start this week. This seminar is just to brush
us up on the conditions of service and other modes of operation in public
service. We were told to sign letters of undertaking about administrative
policies.
“I will get the letter of deployment
today. I do not know which hospital I’m going to be posted yet. By the end of
today, we should have received our letters of posting and deployment to various
state hospitals.”
Various units of the Island Maternity
Hospital were locked with padlocks on Monday. Police officers and other
security officials were seen patrolling the area.
Another inductee who refused to
disclose his name said the state government had taken security measures to
prevent striking or aggrieved doctors from disrupting the induction process at
the hospital.
He said, “We are over 200 doctors
that are being inducted today. I came from Oyo. We were told not to fret or be
threatened by the striking doctors as the policemen are supposed to prevent
anybody from vandalising equipment in the hospitals and also stop aggrieved
doctors who may want to disrupt the induction process which is a private
affair.”
In a statement by the Lagos State
Head of Service, Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe, on Monday, the state government said
the strike came as a shock, “since the leadership of the Medical Guild still
met during the week preceding the illegal strike with top government officials
in charge of health and establishment sectors.”
The statement noted further, “…in
order to ensure that the healthcare delivery service of the state continues to
function for the benefit of the people, the state government has placed
advertisement in some national dailies seeking applications from suitably
qualified medical doctors and consultants/specialists desirous of working with
the government, “adding that “the response has been overwhelming.”
There had been a lingering dispute
between the state government and its doctors under the aegis of the
Medical Guild and the Nigerian Medical Association over the non-implementation
of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale since September 2009 when the circular
was released by the Federal Government.
After several agitations on the part
of the doctors, they embarked on an indefinite strike in August 2010.
The Medical Guild eventually
suspended the strike in March 2011, after the state government agreed to
implement the CONMESS.
However, when the state failed to honour the
agreement, the medical guild embarked on another three-day warning strike to
remind the government of the March 2011 agreement