Stop Labour Rascality And Indiscriminate Encroachment Into Management Affairs; Being An Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari By The Benin National Congress Over The Incessant Strike Actions By The Association Of Resident Doctors, UBTH Chapter.
Gentlemen of the press,
We are compelled to step forward into this consistent chain of face-offs between the management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and the Association of Resident Doctors of the UBTH taking into account the rising scale of avoidable deaths of patients and accident victims owing to indiscriminate strike actions every now and then by the labor union.
As you may well know, the Benin National Congress is an indefatigable host community organization to the Hospital; and it has become incumbent on us to present this open appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, because based on our forensic findings, it was abundantly clear that the ARD, UBTH Branch has magnified its aims and objectives, and has veered into unethical absurdities, by tending to brand itself as an anathema to the progress of the very Hospital it was established to partner and vigorously support its continued existence while providing critical health care services to the public as a tertiary health provider in Nigeria.
We have watched with utter disdain, the consistent antagonistic and anachronistic character of the current leadership of the ARD and if not checked, the Association’s leadership is capable of spinning into a major threat to the health sector of the federal Government. That on less something drastic is done to check combactive tendencies of the ARD UBTH branch, we fear that peace and tranquility will continue to elude the Benin based federal Hospital.
On a number of occasions, we have set up fact-finding, and reconciliation committees respectively to wade into the crises in the UBTH, and sadly, the Union always rebuffed our intervention moves insisting “to deal decisively with the Hospital’s management”; and this kept us puzzling into the questionable objectives that the leadership of the ARD has resolved to achieve by members of the public and helpless patients whose life and survival depends largely on a functional hospital.
In all our investigation, what we found amazing and intriguing is the attempt by the ARD leadership to super-impose unto themselves the powers of Management of the UBTH. All over the world, there exist a clear distinction between management and staff union; and the objective of the latter is to agitate for its member’s welfare; and NOT hub-nosing into contract awards, and other day to day management affairs.
For instance, in a press release made by the ARD leadership on 22nd November and titled “Exposing the staff and patient situation at UBTH” it sought to cast aspersion on the towering image of the Chief Medical Director and his astute Management team; and as a peace loving stakeholder, we think that was most uncharitable, and most unbecoming of the Dr. Omoregie Owen led executives; and this has become a germane ground to sensitize Nigerians to be wary of the seeming slide on the part of some labour Unions into unjust struggles which could perilously jeopardize intra-industrial and Governmental relations in UBTH and beyond.
Dr. David Ekomwenrenren - Director of Publicity and Intelligence.