Resident doctors set for nationwide strike on Monday

The National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) is to begin an indefinite nationwide strike on Monday.

Addressing journalists after the executive meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) in Umuahia, Abia State, NARD National President, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa said its members have been asked to proceed on a nationwide indefinite industrial action.

“We are embarking on a total and indefinite strike on August 2, 2021. You can recall we had a memorandum of action on March 31, 2021, and had an addendum to it on April 9, and since then, we still have had irregularities in the payment of salaries to the house officers.

“We had issues with them being non-regular payment and as part of the memorandum of action, it was said that they should be captured back into the IPPS platform,” he said.

Uyilawa added, “You are aware that we lost 19 members to COVID-19 and death in service. Insurance was supposed to be paid to their next of kin. The last time we met the Minister of Labour and Minister of Health, we were told that our members are part of those to be given the insurance benefit, but we found out that their names are not even there.”

He cited the inability of the Federal Government to meet the demands of the doctors as part of the reasons for the decision.

The NARD president, however, apologised to Nigerians for the decision, which he insisted was a result of government’s failure in its responsibilities.

The doctors had embarked on industrial action in April, leaving many patients unattended across various government-owned hospitals in the country.

They later suspended it 10 days later following a virtual meeting with members, which lasted about 15 hours on April 10.

Some of the issues raised by the medical practitioners at the time included the immediate payment of all salaries owed to all house officers, including March salaries (regardless of quota system) before the end of business on March 31.

They also sought an upward review of the hazard allowance to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers and payment of the outstanding COVID-19 inducement allowance, especially in state-owned tertiary institutions.

The doctors called for the abolishment of the exorbitant bench fees being paid by their members on outside postings in all training institutions across the country.