Recently, resident doctors at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUT-TH), Parklane, Enugu, embarked on an indefinite strike after reportedly receiving their April salary and other allowances. According to reports, the resident doctors embarked on the strike over alleged failure of the state government to honour the agreement it had with the doctors on a new salary structure. They also explained that the April salary came without the government implementing an earlier agreement it reached with the striking doctors.
The medics further pointed out that the state government had in a letter to the doctors dated March 26, 2020 approved their minimum demand of being placed on the same welfare scheme obtainable in Federal Tertiary Health Institutions in line with the 2019 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) as well as proper entry points for doctors. However, the state government has insisted that it paid the COVID-19 allowance for all health workers, which represents 25 percent of their basic salaries as approved by the government.
Despite the state government’s move to placate the striking doctors through this incentive, the doctors said that the strike would continue until the government fulfilled the agreement it had with them. The government has declared the strike illegal because the doctors did not serve the mandatory 21-day notice. It also explained that the doctors’ action was in disregard of the National Industrial Court, Enugu, order restraining the doctors from continuing with the strike until the matter is determined.
Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in all sectors of the economy, including the health sector, we want to appeal to the striking doctors to understand the economic situation of Enugu and other states of the federation and think twice over the lingering industrial dispute between them and the state government. The doctors should appreciate the fact of falling oil prices at the international market and its effect on our national and sub-national budgets.
As oil is our number one foreign exchange earner, anything that affects its price will equally affect governance system in Nigeria. Enugu state is not an exception. With dwindling revenue from the Federal Government, most states, including Enugu, will not be in good stead to fulfill most of their statutory obligations, including salaries and allowances of workers. Some states have cut by half the salaries of political appointees. Companies are sacking workers and many have cut salaries by over 50 percent and more.
The situation we are in is not normal. It demands contingency measures to overcome the situation. The lockdown in the country is not good for the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic calls for sacrifice from all of us. This is the time to show love and sympathy with those down with the disease. It is not a time for doctors to embark on strike no matter their grouse with the government. With the adjustment in federal budget, it is likely that such will obtain in states’ budgets.
With the foregoing clarifications, it will not be difficult to deduce why the capacity of the state governments to meet their needs, fiscal-wise, has considerably reduced. While it is within the doctors’ labour rights to seek for improved welfare packages in line with what is obtainable in the country and known standards, especially among states, it is also the right of Enugu state government to agree to what it can actually pay considering the constraints of the time we are in. We say this because health is on the concurrent list and we are running a federal system of government.
Therefore, it will not be out of place for the striking doctors and the government of Enugu State to further dialogue on the issues and amicably resolve the matter now that the entire country and Enugu State are battling to contain the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic. We strongly believe that this is not the right time for the resident doctors to be on strike. This is a time they should be very vigilant at their duty posts attending to patients.
It is worth reminding the doctors that they should always remember their Hippocratic Oath which places high premium on saving human life first before other material considerations. Abroad, doctors and other health workers are even volunteering to treat COVID-19 patients. Our striking doctors should emulate their foreign counterparts and think of their patients first before welfare matters.
On the other hand, the Enugu state government should also remember that doctors and other health workers are human beings and that what affects others in the society equally affects them. They buy from the same market as politicians and their appointees. What is good for the politicians should also be good for the doctors and other workers as well. As people in the frontline in the war against COVID-19, the doctors actually need strong defence system, in terms of salaries and allowances, protective equipment and tools, to be able to combat the lethal virus which originated from Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The doctors should be safe and healthy before fighting for the sick and victims of COVID-19 pandemic. Good enough, the pandemic has exposed our national and sub-national weak health systems, including the poor remuneration of all categories of health workers across the country. The brain drain in the health sector and the subsequent health tourism are products of our failing health systems. However, the deficiencies of our entire healthcare delivery system cannot be fixed in just one day.
Although Rome was not built in a day, a journey of a thousand miles begins in a day. Therefore, there is urgent need for both sides to the trade dispute to call a truce and settle the matter amicably. We believe that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi will reach out to the leadership of the striking doctors and let them understand the situation on ground as well as the way forward. The dialogue should reflect a win-win situation for both parties to the trade conflict.
We do not prescribe strike as the best option to settle a trade dispute. We believe that any strike in the health sector of the state at this point in time will be deleterious to the health system. This is why the federal and state governments should prioritise the health sector as well as the education sector. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed opened our eyes to the reality that we should develop our health sector and stop the thriving medical tourism.
The pandemic has made it clear to all of us that we cannot always jet out to foreign countries for medical treatment at the slightest excuse. It has equally underscored the need for us to holistically revamp our ailing health sector and bring it to be at par with what obtains in advanced countries. For this lofty goal to be achieved, doctors and other health workers must be adequately remunerated in line with global standards.