Medical Doctors Commence Indefinite Nationwide Strike, Give Reasons

Medical doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike.

The doctors declared the strike on Tuesday night during the National Executive Council meeting in Lagos.

The President of the association, Dr. Orji Emeka Innocent, said the strike will commence at midnight on Tuesday.

The industrial action comes after a two-week ultimatum was given to the Federal Government by NARD for its demands to be implemented.

In a communique issued after its
virtual extraordinary national executive council (NEC) meeting on Tuesday, the doctors said despite giving a two-week ultimatum, the government was slow to respond to their demand.

The communique said, “The resolutions of the conciliatory meeting chaired by the then Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment were yet to be implemented, seven weeks after, despite the set timelines for their implementation.”

The NARD president noted that the significant demands of the association are: immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, payment of skipping arrears, and upward review of CONMESS in line with complete salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.

Others are payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to the omitted doctors, reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN ), payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in State Tertiary Health Institutions and payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, in an attempt to stop the strike, held deliberations with the leadership of NARD behind closed doors on Monday.

Abbas promised to meet with President Bola Tinubu to avert the industrial action of the resident doctors and announced the setup of an ad hoc committee to meet with all the stakeholders and address the matter.