The Nigerian Ministries of Labour and Health and the National Association Resident Doctors (NARD) need to desist from reducing negotiations to power struggle but rather find solutions to the national strike by Resident Doctors.
This was the position of the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Mr Salihu Lukman in a press statement on the current National strike embarked on by Resident Doctors in Nigeria.
He also opined that labour issues including negotiations for wages and terms of conditions of services be moved to the concurrent list of the Nigerian Constitution to stop strikes from becoming national.
Mr. Lukman while stating the danger to life that the nationwide strike by Resident Doctors is posing said human lives have been reduced to a power struggle and negotiations for money between the union and the government.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Labour should be more proactive in preventing strikes noting that government at both federal and state levels could provide some incentives for the doctors which will not cost the government.
“There are provisions with very high monetary value, which may not cost a dime to government. For instance, assuming that being a Resident Doctor or a health worker in a state government establishment qualifies one to be on priority list for land allocation for the purpose of building personal accommodation. There are so many non-monetary incentives, which have very high monetary value to the beneficiaries that can be arranged” Lukman noted.
The PGF DG appealed to the Resident Doctors to uphold the ethics of their profession by putting human lives first.
“The Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria provided by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, under Part B (Professional Conduct) defined professional negligence to include ‘Failure to attend promptly to a patient requiring urgent attention when the practitioner was in a position to do so.’ How can this important ethical requirement be reconciled with the whimsical disposition of Resident Doctors in Nigeria to go on strike, including what is clearly a solidarity strike?
“A situation where conducts of medical practitioners, being also members of trade unions, conflict with the Code of Ethics they subscribed to must be resolved in favour of protecting the lives of Nigerians. Under no circumstance should a registered medical doctor who is a member of the Medical and Dental Council conduct himself or herself in manners that neglect the primary responsibility of attending to sick persons in Nigerian hospitals” he said.
Mr. Lukman further pointed out the need to ammend the Nigerian 1999 Constitution because the Labour conditions and agreements in some state are not the same in other states and the federal therefore one solution wouldn’t suit all.
“In the end, priority attention must be given to the issue of redefining Nigerian federalism to ensure that labour issues, including negotiations for wages and terms of conditions of services and resolving all challenges that come with it are moved to the concurrent list of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended. A situation whereby terms agreed with Federal Government are used for state government employees will always create problems of implementation” Lukman said.
Bilkisu Pai
