Says Major Causes of Strike Resolved
Lagos State governor, Babjide Sanwo-olu has attributed the three-day strike action by the Lagos chapter of the Medical Guild to an apparent miscommunication with the government, adding that the action is nothing to grieve about.
The Governor who made his statement while he spoke to newsmen Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba said the strike action by the doctors did not upset him.
He reassured of his administration’s commitment towards catering for the welfare of the state’s workforce, particularly health workers both in the public and private sector.
He said, “I also have the responsibility to ensure lives of all residents and their property are secured. This is paramount to us. The media would agree with me that in the last 412 days we have come on board, security and welfare of the people have been part of our guiding principles. And we will keep doing that as we go along.
“However, disputes are also natural in human relationship. People might see things differently from the way others do see it. Personally, I am not upset about the warning strike embarked on by the Medical Guild. The action is not anything to grieve about; it is really all around communication and understanding. You will understand things when you see knowledge, and wisdom will also come in when you seek knowledge. These are key guiding principles. The issues of disagreement are very simple; it is because of lack of adequate communication.
“The first thing they said is that, we owe some workers hazard allowances. For the benefit of the public, our government is the first, in March, that started paying hazard allowance to our entire health workers, almost 20,000 of them. We increased the hazard allowance by 400 per cent and this is verifiable. Lagos is the first to do this. All the entire health workers – doctors, nurses, drivers, and hygienists – got a 400 per cent on hazard allowance as enumerated in their payment structure.
“Above that, we realised we needed to give additional incentive to frontline workers specifically engaged in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. This is called COVID-19 allowance, which is outside their regular salaries and hazard allowances. The COVID-19 allowance is for over 1,000 medical officers and other auxiliary workers in all of our isolation centres. On this additional allowance, I do not need to consult with anybody. It is something I felt it was needed.”
