File photo: Doctors protest in Lagos

The Lagos State Government has denied the accusation by some doctors in its employment that they were being owed two-months salaries.

Government said it has always paid the salaries of all its employees, doctors inclusive, when due.

Some doctors working in the State Government’s hospitals had early last week staged a demonstration alleging that the State Government owed them an unspecified amount of money covering their salaries for July and August this year.

Government said the doctors are asking to be paid for July and August 2014 during which they went on strike at a time the state was in a state of panic over Ebola virus.

A government statement by the commissioner for information, Lateef Ibirogba explained that the salaries were not paid in accordance with the Government’s policy of “No Work, No Pay”.

“The period of the doctors’ strike unfortunately coincided with the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in Lagos State. All entreaties to the striking doctors to see reasons and call off the strike were ignore,”Ibirogba said.

In a Statement, jointly signed by Chairman, Health Service Commission, Dr. M.O. Salako and Chairman, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. O. Williams, the State Government said it has promptly resumed payment of salaries of the doctors since they resumed work.

The Statement, which reiterated that the State Government’s Policy of “No Work, No Pay” was still in force, pointed out that the Policy was informed by the fact that it was unjustifiable for any worker to be paid for work not done maintaining that any group of its employees that embarked on strike in contravention of the laid-down procedures governing such actions would be so treated for the period of strike.