Resident Doctors Threaten Nationwide Strike, Call On Gbajabiamila, Lawan, Others To Intervene

Resident Doctors under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have threatened to embark on a nationwide strike by the end of January if the federal government doesn’t address their demands.

Naija News reports that the association’s President, Emeka Orji told Channels TV that it’s not in its interest to embark on an industrial action, considering its implication on the health sector.

He however said the group has no other way out if the government failed to address their demands before January 28 when the association will end its National Executive Council meeting.

According to the NARD president, “We have been restraining ourselves as their leaders and that is exactly what we stipulated in the letter.”

Orji advanced that the association is appealing to well-meaning Nigerians including the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal and the Director General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze to intervene and save the looming industrial action.

Stating some of the association’s demands Orji said some of the unresolved issues include the irregularities in the new circular on an upward review of the medical residency training fund, non-payment of outstanding arrears of the new hazard allowance, as well as the non-payment of the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage to some of its members.

Others are salary arrears of our members in State Tertiary Health Institutions running into several months, including Abia, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti and Gombe States, and non-domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act (MRTA) in most states across the Federation.

Naija News understands that NARD in an earlier statement issued a warning of an imminent nationwide strike action.

The association remarked that the six months ultimatum it gave to the federal government over the lingering unresolved issues affecting its members, including the irregularities in the new circular on the upward review of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), outstanding payment of the arrears of the new hazard allowance, non-payment of the skipping arrears for 2014, 2015 and 2016, non-payment of the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage to some of its members, and delay in the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure(CONMESS) is over

The earlier statement read in part “We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the government through its ministries, departments and agencies in resolving some of the issues raised,” the statement read.

“However, many of them remain largely unresolved and have now become sources of serious nationwide agitation threatening industrial peace and harmony in the health sector.”