Amidst the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have threatened to commence an ‘indefinite strike’ on Thursday if the Nigerian government fails to meet their demands.
The president of the association, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, confirmed the development in a communique issued at the end of the NARD’s extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Saturday.
The president said the ultimatum given to the federal government to meet its earlier demands will expire on March 31, 2021 with no significant achievement.
“The NEC unanimously agreed that NARD should proceed on a total and indefinite strike on the 1st of April 2021, by 8 am if the demands are not met,” Mr Okhuaihesuyi said.
Resident doctors, who are undergoing training to become consultants, make up a large percentage of doctors in Nigeria’s tertiary hospitals.
The doctors are demanding, amongst other things, payment of all salaries arrears, review of the current 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 are also demanding the “implementation of September 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement between NARD and the government in order to bring lasting peace to the health sector and curb the ongoing ugly trend of brain drain from the health sector.”
According to the association, none of its members has benefited from the life insurance scheme put in place by the federal government after considering the danger health workers are exposed to during the pandemic.
The doctors had downed tools in June and September 2020 over these same issues.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
The post Resident doctors to go on strike if govt fails to meet their demand appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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