The National Industrial Court, Enugu Division on Wednesday declared the ongoing strike by resident doctors in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Park Lane as ‘illegal and contemptuous’.
The court also said that the state government had the option of initiating contempt proceedings against the doctors.
It would be recalled that resident doctors in the hospital on April 25, embarked on an industrial action over alleged failure of the state government to comply with the agreement reached with the doctors.
However Justice O. O. Arowosegbe, ruling on a motion exparte brought by one Oscar Mba, said that the resident doctors proceeded on the strike in spite of a subsisting injunction earlier obtained by the state government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Mba instituted the motion for himself and on behalf of Enugu urban residents through his counsel, Mr Princewill Agu.
The order sought the court to impress on the doctors to stay all actions in connection with the resumed industrial action.
Agu told the court that his client was devastated on April 27, when his wife took their twins to the facility for medical check up.
He said that his client discovered that the resident doctors had withdrawn their services.
The lawyer said that it was unprofessional for the doctors to embark on strike as they were engaged in the provision of essential services in a bid to contain the rampaging Coronavirus pandemic.
However Arowosegbe, in the ruling, said that the relief sought by the motion could not be granted as the state government was not joined in the matter.
The judge ruled that the state government reserved the right to initiate contempt proceedings against the resident doctors.
He said that the subsisting injunction restraining the doctors from embarking on an industrial action could be revisited as the defendants were the same doctors and the prayers same as that of the state government.
He, therefore, said that the state government could invoke Form 48 and 49 to commence contempt proceeding against the defendants.
He adjourned the matter until May 20, being the same date the court had earlier slated to hear the substantive case between the government and the resident doctors.
Arowosegbe said the substantive case between Mba and the resident doctors and that of the state government with the resident doctors would be heard together.
