Govt declares strike illegal

Lagos State government on Tuesday ordered the striking doctors to immediately return to their duty posts, having declared the current strike action as illegal. State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba, in a statement, insisted that the doctors were making “unlawful” claims for the period they did not work.

Ibirogba said: “The current strike is as illegal as the former one and the same law still has to apply. The doctors, therefore, are advised to resume their respective duty positions while discussions with the State Government are ongoing.”

On the previous occasion, Ibirogba said 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). It is also instructive to note that doctors in private employment, who are also members of the NMA, did not join the so-called “sympathy strike.”

The commissioner 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 continue to function.