Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has issued a seven-day ultimatum to striking medical doctors in the state to return to their duty posts or be presumed to have voluntarily resigned their appointments with the state government.
Aregbesola in a statement by the Permanent Secretary Human Resources and Capacity Building, Mr Sunday Festus Olajide, on behalf of the government, condemned the action of medical doctors for not been ready to show understanding like other labour unions during the period of national challenges on public finance.
The statement said that despite series of appeals from the government to medical doctors in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lautech Teaching Hospital, Osogbo and other government health institutions to show understanding during the period of national challenges on public finance, the striking doctors have remained adamant.
He lamented that the doctors have continued to draw their salaries in the last two months and still remain at home thus eating their cake and still wanting to have it.
The government in the statement said that any striking doctor that fail to return to work on or before the expiration of seven days ultimatum, beginning from December 18, 2015 should consider himself or herself to have voluntarily resigned his or her appointments with the government.
The statement declared that the strike embarked upon by the Medical Doctors in the State Public Service (both at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, LAUTECH), Osogbo and other government health facilities was illegal saying it does not follow due process, thereby breaching even their professional Hippocratic Oath.
The medical doctors commenced an industrial strike on Monday, 28th September 2015.
