The governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has appealed to striking doctors in the state to be patriotic and call off their industrial action to prevent no work, no pay rule.
The governor said he felt more distraught realising that many workers, who got promoted five years ago have not enjoyed financial benefits of such elevation, saying “it wasn’t my style and intention to deprive people of their legitimate entitlements.”
Fayemi also clarified that only the students in SS3 class preparing for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will resume on Monday, August 10, preparatory to their examinations.
Fayemi said this in a statewide broadcast Wednesday transmitted by all broadcasting stations domiciled in Ekiti.
Fayemi regretted that there had been a progressive spike in the number of COVID-19 cases recorded between July and now in Ekiti, which cumulative number of victims now stands at 152.
Fayemi appealed to the striking doctors, under the auspices of National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) to end the strike in the interest of poor citizens.
‘We can always collect arrears of unpaid allowances, but a life lost cannot be reversed. That is why I should like to call on the doctors to take the patriotic route like other health workers and the organised labour for an immediate end to the needless strike.
” I do not want to be put in a situation where I have to invoke the no work, no pay in Ekiti”, he warned.
Commending the labour leader for being patriotic, Fayemi stated: “Two days ago, the leadership of the organised labour comprising Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiation Council also embarked on a warning strike which they immediately called off after engaging with government.
“For instance, I am pained in my heart that people who got promoted since about five years ago have not enjoyed the corresponding financial benefits. These are things which give me great pain and I am absolutely committed to assuaging their feelings”.
