By Chioma Obinna

LAGOS—As Lagosians prepare to go to the polls in less than two weeks, they may also have to contend with yet another industrial action in the health sector, as medical doctors in the employ of the Lagos State Government have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike.

Disclosing this in a press statement in Lagos, the doctors under the platform of Medical Guild accused the state government of withholding their May 2012 as well as August/September 2014 salaries.

The statement signed by the Chairman of Medical Guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo, also blamed the strike on the attitude of the government towards them.

“We have embarked on a three-day warning strike from February 18 to 20, during which emergency services were provided to protest the non-payment of their wages. This followed an exhaustive and protracted six-month period during which the Medical Guild, along with Nigerian Medical Association had appealed to the administration for peaceful resolution, all to no avail.

“We are bewildered that the administration ignored all our efforts to resolve the matter without a strike, and only invited us to talk when we threatened to go on strike.

“There has been little in terms of a positive response from the administration since the warning strike was concluded. Since resolution was not achieved at the end of this period, members of the guild should proceed on an indefinite strike from Monday the 16th of March, 2015. However, emergency services will be provided in all the hospitals during the action.”

Salaries of the doctors were withheld under the ‘no work, no pay’ policy of the state government after it joined its parent body, the NMA, on a nationwide strike last July to protest issues of relativity and other federal appointments in the health sector.