OSOGBO, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Osun State government, on Friday, said for abandoning their duty posts for over six months, striking doctors in the state public health sector have automatically sacked themselves.
It affirmed that it was invoking civil service rule that says whoever shuns his or her duty post for a certain period is deemed to have resigned.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, the chairman, Osun State Special Committee on Health, Dr. Simeon Afolayan, contended that the doctors’ demands were higher than what the state could afford financially.
According to him, doctors in the employment of the State Ministry of Health and Hospital Management Board, are less than 100, saying “government could not because of the number, and in the face of dwindling resources, accruable from the Federation Account, use all its resources to pay only them”.
While explaining that the doctors were duly represented in the revenue sharing committee headed by veteran labour leader, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, Afolayan averred that the committee had been determining the percentage going into the payment of salaries.
He stated, “40,000 workforce agreed that the state should take tough decision when it was clear the state’s finances was down. This led to the payment of modulated salaries to workers.
“Government cannot pay full salary to doctors when others are receiving modulated salary. While we recognize that the doctors are rendering essential services, we must not also risk irking other workers, who are on modulated salaries.
“For 11 months, they have been on strike, yet they were being paid salaries. They got paid till September last year. In civil service, you cannot abandon your duty post for 6 months without your action being considered as resignation.
“This civil service rule has taken effect. Government cannot encourage lawlessness. Their (doctors) role is significant but their number is insignificant among workforce in the state. The fact that for 11 months, doctors did not work and yet the state’s healthcare services are still functioning calls to question their relevance.”
Credit: Nigerian Tribune
