Striking workers of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital have resumed work following appeals by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other well-meaning Nigerians.
After a congress decision on Sunday, the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idiaraba, suspended its ongoing strike. This was contained in a statement released by Dr Ramon Moronkola, the association’s president in Lagos.
According to Moronkola, the decision was based on the various appeals by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria; elders of the profession; civil society groups; and well-meaning Nigerians.
The statement said that work would resume at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17.
"The Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), hereby suspends her ongoing strike action by congress decision. It is our hope that the hospital’s management will reciprocate this gesture by adhering to the terms of agreement. This should be by ensuring smooth implementation of the Federal Government’s directive on the adjusted grade level, amongst other local issues, which have lingered for too long."
"While we reaffirm the legitimacy of our demands, we appreciate members of the public who were the direct victims of this impasse for their understanding and constructive criticism. We hereby call on the Federal Government to institute a probe into the immediate and remote cause(s) of this seemingly recurrent crisis in the health sector in a bid to putting an end to it. This particular strike could have been averted since. This is because the Federal Government, through a circular from the Office of the Head of Civil Service, issued on the Dec. 19, 2013, adequately addressed the issue," the statement said.
NAN reports that on Monday, June 29, the ARD of LUTH commenced an indefinite strike over working conditions at the hospital.