Wednesday, 23rd May 2012
OPEN LETTER TO
AMBASSADORS AND HIGH COMMISSIONERS
IN NIGERIA
Your Distinguished Excellencies,
BAN ON TRAVEL FOR HEALTH PURPOSES ON LAGOS STATE PUBLIC OFFICIALS
It has become imperative for the Joint Action Front (JAF), a pro-labour
civil society coalition to request the Foreign Missions in Nigeria to place a
BAN ON TRAVEL FOR HEALTH PURPOSES ON LAGOS STATE PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
This is sequel to the information available to us that senior officials
of the Lagos State Government and their relations are leaving the country for
medical treatment, at very great cost to the taxpayer, while the greater mass
of the people suffer under the current situation.
The Lagos State Government, as you should have been aware from
significant reports by local and international media, has been violating with
impunity international and national labour laws on the Right to Organise and to
Collective Bargaining and long-standing judgments of the ILO Committee on
Freedom of Association in its employer-employees relationship with the Lagos
Medical Doctors (the Medical Guild) in Lagos State Government employment, and
has by its arrogant posture, which clearly portrays insensitivity to human
suffering, left the poor and underprivileged, vulnerable to sudden death.
It is necessary to recall that the Government of Lagos State recently
sacked 788 of its doctors for demanding it should honour the Agreement it
FREELY made with the Lagos Medical Guild 14 months ago. The doctors had
embarked on a 3-day Warning Strike in April 2012 after its months of appeals to
the Government had been roundly ignored.
The Doctors had opted for the short strike in order to avoid the effects
that a prolonged strike would have on the people, in the hope for a quick
resolution of the dispute; but the Lagos State Government responded with
‘Threats of sack, intimidation and the invasion and disruption of a peaceful
meeting of the doctors with truckloads of armed policemen and armoured
personnel carriers. These crude actions and executive lawlessness by the Lagos
State Government precipitated the declaration of an indefinite strike by the
Lagos Doctors.
It is the considered opinion by the General Congress of JAF that all
measures including diplomatic sanctions should be brought to bear on the Lagos
State Government in order to ensure that it rescinds all its deplorable act of
insensitivity. We believe that leaving the country by any official of the Lagos
State Government or their relatives to seek medical treatment abroad while the
mass of the people are being denied access to basic healthcare is criminal, and
this must not be allowed.
Therefore, JAF urges your Excellencies to ensure that no functionary of
the Lagos State Government or their families should be granted Visa to travel
abroad to seek medical treatment until the current situation is resolved, and
the rights of the teeming masses of our people to adequate health is restored.
JAF is of the view that rather than waste public resources that should
have been mostly available to develop the health sector, the Lagos State
Government should see to the speedy resolution of the avoidable impasse it has
created, by immediately and unconditionally, recalling the doctors in its
employment, re-affirming the Agreement and proceeding to fully implement it.
Our interest in this matter is to ensure that Government in our country
at whatever levels should be responsible to the people and our duty is to use
all legitimate means to make Government alive to its responsibilities.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Dipo Fashina
Comrade Abiodun Aremu
JAF
Chairperson
JAF Secretary
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