Sacked Doctors: Rights Groups Warn NUPENG Against Strike

A coalition of human rights group has warned the National Union of Petroleum Energy and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG against embarking on strike in solidarity with 788 medical doctors dismissed by the Lagos State Government.

The groups include the Coalition for Good Governance, CGG, Doctors for Human Rights in Nigeria, DHRN, Campaign Against Corruption and Bad Governance, CACOBAG and Humanity Service Project, HSP.

The groups issued the warning in separate statements at the weekend. DHRN Chairman, Dr. Tuyi Mebawondu condemned the proposed strike by NUPENG, saying this would not hasten the resolution of the on-going crisis in the health sector, stressing that the solidarity strike would neither help the health of the patients nor mobilise the much needed funds or human resources to improve the health system.

Mebawondu said the proposed strike would further stifle access “to the scanty health services presently available.”

He said no matter how unpalatable and painful the government action seems, we must allow the institutions of the state including judiciary, civil services and decision-taking processes to develop.

“The common people are already under the burden of economic hardship occasioned by inflation, out-of-pocket health expenses, high cost of PMS, increased PHCN tariff as they live on less than $2 per day,” he said.

CACOBAG Chairman, Mr. Toyin Raheem appealed to NUPENG not to join the on-going doctors’ strike in the state, as the hardship being faced by Lagosians because of the ongoing doctors’ strike was enormous.

Raheem stated that any strike by NUPENG would only compound the plight of the working people that are always at the receiving end, saying that the matter was still in court and “we are optimistic that the National Industrial Court will be fair to the two parties.”

Also speaking, the CGG Executive Secretary, Mr. Joseph Babatunde, described the proposed solidarity strike as not only unnecessary and unwarranted, but also an affront to civilised conduct and the law by a lawful workers’ body which should know better.

He stated that the matter for which the Lagos branch of NUPENG “is threatening strike action is already in court and so we wonder what they stand to gain by embarking on this unnecessary and uncivilised action.”

—Kazeem Ugbodaga