NAMDA-UNILAG issues strike warning over pay parity, unpaid allowances

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has threatened to resume its suspended industrial action on August 28, 2026, if Oyo State Government and the hospital management fail to resolve its outstanding welfare demands.

The association made this known, yesterday, in a statement signed by its President, Dr Adedapo Mustapha, and General Secretary, Dr John Stephen.

The LAUTECH doctors had suspended their industrial action on June 27, 2026 granting the hospital management and relevant authorities an eight-week period to address their concerns.

According to the association, the suspension was done “in good faith” to maintain industrial harmony, support the progress of the institution and prevent disruption of healthcare services to residents of Oyo State.

However, the ARD said several critical issues remain unresolved as the agreed period draws to a close.

The outstanding demands include the full implementation and release of the medical residency training fund, implementation of the new professional allowance table, payment of minimum wage arrears and urgent recruitment of resident doctors and other critical manpower.

The association said that the welfare situation at the hospital had become increasingly difficult, stressing that the demands were neither excessive nor unreasonable.

“These demands are neither outrageous nor unreasonable,” the doctors said, noting that several of the welfare packages had been implemented in other healthcare institutions for years.

Also, the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, has issued a final three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening a warning and an indefinite industrial action if their demands are not met by August 31, 2026.

The academics, driven by widening pay disparities, bureaucratic delays, and a mounting internal brain drain, made this known, yesterday, during a media briefing held at the UNILAG College of Medicine (CMUL), Idi-Araba, Lagos.

Chairman of NAMDA, UNILAG chapter, Prof. Andrew Ugburo, while speaking at the briefing, voiced the growing frustration within the union, warning that NAMDA’s history of avoiding industrial action had led government authorities to take their patience for granted.

He stated that there exists a stark pay gap between medical doctors working in university’s faculties and their counterparts employed directly by federal teaching hospitals and medical centres.

The ARD also raised concerns over the severe shortage of medical personnel at the teaching hospital, saying that the situation had left the available doctors being overworked and overstretched.

“The hospital is experiencing gross manpower shortages, while the inability to attract and retain resident doctors is further worsened by the prevailing welfare conditions,” the association said.

It added that prolonged and frequent call duties had increasingly become the norm for the few doctors available, warning that the manpower crisis could have implications for patient care and safety.

The association, therefore, appealed the Oyo State Governor and relevant government authorities to urgently intervene and resolve the issues.

The doctors maintained that they had no desire to disrupt healthcare services or inconvenience residents of the state, adding that their preference remained dialogue and a mutually beneficial resolution.

“Our preference remains constructive engagement, dialogue and a mutually beneficial resolution,” the association said.

Besides, the ARD urged the hospital management and Oyo State Government to take decisive action before the deadline to avert another disruption of medical services at LTH Ogbomoso.

He stated that there exists a stark pay gap between medical doctors working in university’s faculties and their counterparts employed directly by federal teaching hospitals and medical centres.

Ugburo said: “Despite undergoing identical specialised training, medical academics carry a double burden: treating patients and taking students on demanding call-duty shifts, while simultaneously lecturing, conducting research, and grading the next generation of doctors. Despite this workload, doctors working strictly within hospital settings earn significantly higher pay.”

He said that while other academic unions had reached agreements with the Federal Government that resulted in prompt payment of allowances, NAMDA’s key entitlements remained trapped in red tape.

The union, therefore, called on the Federal Government to bridge the pay gap between medical lecturers and hospital consultants in the CONMESS.