Strike Continues Until Demands Are Met – Resident Doctors

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has vowed to continue its ongoing nationwide total and indefinite strike action until reasonable progress is made by the government to address its demands.

Gatekeepers News reports that the Resident Doctors declared a “total and indefinite strike action” in a statement made available on Tuesday evening.

The strike comes after the association issued a two-week ultimatum on July 5, to the Federal Government for the implementation of all its demands, which include:

• the immediate payment of the 2023 MRTF,
• the immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, and the payment of skipping arrears.
• the upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS,
• the payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to the omitted doctors,
• the reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by MDCN,
• the payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in State Tertiary Health Institutions, amongst others.

Upon the conclusion of its statutory National
Executive Council (NEC) Meeting on Saturday, the association in a Communique, vowed to continue the strike until government addresses its demands as contained in the ultimatum issued to the federal government on the July 5, 2023.

Other resolution by the Resident Doctors included:

“To call on the governors of Abia, Kaduna, and Enugu states as well as other states where our members’ welfare is neglected, to as a matter of urgency look into these challenges in order to resolve them amicably. For the avoidance of doubt, these governors are expected to among others, clear all salary backlogs, pay promotion arrears, adopt/review the CONMESS salary structure, review the hazard allowance, and domesticate the medical residency training act as well as pay the MRTF using the new circular issued by NSIWC in January 2023 (as was done by their counterparts in Delta, Benue Ogun and Osun states).

“To vehemently reject the paltry 25% increment in the basic salary of doctors
as well as the accouterment allowance, adding that her earlier demand is
for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its right
value as at the time of the approval of the structure in 2009.

“To vehemently reject the casualization of doctors under any guise in all
tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, warning that this could be a subject of
industrial action in the near future if not nipped in the bud now.

“To call for the immediate unconditional release of our trainer, Prof. Ekanem
Philip-Ephraim of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), and to call on the government to beef up security in the country to forestall such occurrences.

“To persuade the federal government to consider ways of placating Nigerians
who have to grapple daily with the burden of living in the post-subsidy era, while calling on the government to ensure that savings from the subsidy removal would be prudently utilized for the common good.”

The NEC appealed to the Federal and state governments to urgently resolve these demands in order to forestall the further escalation of the ongoing industrial disharmony in the health sector nationwide.

Meanwhile the Resident Doctors appreciated, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori (JP) of Delta state; Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq of Kwara state; Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state; Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue state; Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state; Governor Biodun Oyebanji
of Ekiti state and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state for their commitment
to the welfare of our members in their employ, advising other state governors to emulate them in this.