In Solidarity with Striking Lagos Doctors

PRESS STATEMENT

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Socialist Workers and Youth League (SWL) supports the 3-day strike embarked upon by the Lagos State doctors under the auspices of Medical Guild. The medical doctors are fighting for workplace safety and their welfare as employees of the Lagos State Government. Their demands are for: adequate provision of PPE, Covid19 hazard allowances, and due payment of 2 months salaries owed workers in the isolation centres.

They had issued a series of ultimatums over the last 35 days to no avail, after earlier appeals to the government to do the needful. Unfortunately, Lagos State Government in its usual manner failed to comply with these valid demands of the workers despite the fact that the Medical Guild gave government the grace of meeting at least 70% of their demands for them to call off the planned strike.

This clearly shows that the Sanwoolu-led Lagos State government does not care about the health and social need of the people nor the health workers.  It was gathered that Lagos State received donations summing to N18 billion including a grant of N10 billion awarded by the Federal Government. The failure of the Sanwoolu-led government to attend to the important demands of the health workers at this critical period of health crisis is the height of insensitivity.

And quite importantly, it exposes the fraud in the infamous narrative Sanwoolu is trying hard to create that; ‘we are in this together’. Obviously, we are not in this together, it is them against us. Sadly, the bosses are keen on sustaining the status quo of inequality even in the era of health and humanitarian crisis.

They put their profits and wealth accumulation over our health. But Lagos State Health workers are showing that change is possible and that we, as working-class people, have to fight to put our health before the bosses’ wealth.

It is on this basis that we support the doctors’ strike action and we urge the labour movement particularly the NLC, TUC and ULC to declare a national strike in support of the health workers and caregivers who are on the frontline in the fight against Covid19 and on the frontline of receiving blows from the reactionary bosses state.

Lastly, it can be observed from the failure of the Lagos State Government to comply with the demands of the workers despite the ultimatums and flexibility of the workers that it is not willing to attend to the issue of improving the welfare and wellbeing of workers. We thus urge the Lagos State doctors and other health workers to fight on. We assure them of our solidarity till victory.

Lai BROWN

National Secretary

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