The strike by resident doctors will continue despite a meeting between them and a federal government delegation, officials have said.
The meeting in Abuja ended in the early hours of Thursday, September 6, 2017 between the leaders of the striking doctors, NARD, and a federal government delegation that included the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and that of health, Isaac Adewole.
A statement by the labour ministry after the meeting which lasted several hours said the strike would continue until at least Friday when the doctors are expected to meet to review the offer by the government on their demands including payment of salary arrears owed.
”The meeting agreed that NARD national officers is to present the outcome of the re-negotiated Memorandum of Terms of settlement to an emergency meeting of its members by Friday September 8, 2017 with a view to suspending the strike once there is evidence of payment of the mandate as presented to the meeting, to the affected institutions,” the statement noted
The strike has crippled activities in several public hospitals across Nigeria.
On Tuesday, NARD insisted that its members would only call off the strike if there was a serious commitment from the federal government to resolve their demands.
The NARD president, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) chapter, Ucha Nephro, said this in a telephone interview in Abuja.
Nephro expressed regrets that the federal government has been making promises to solving the demands, but was yet to show commitment.
He said that resident doctors in UATH have not been paid their full salary in January, February, March and August 2017.
According to him, the association have been asking federal government to pay the arrears it owe them, adding that the payment is done without reason.
“We want the federal government to pay us our full salary. Other staff of the hospital have their salaries paid fully because they are under Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform.
“We also want to be under the platform.
“In January, NARD members in UATH got 78 per cent of their salary, in February it got 78 and March, 80. It was corrected in April and we have been asking federal government to pay us these arrears.
“In August 72 per cent was paid, now we don’t know whether there will be salary for September,’’ he said.
He also confirmed that medical consultants at the Enugu State Teaching Hospital have also embarked on strike on Tuesday over similar issues.
However, consultants at the UATH are providing medical services to patients.
Hattip to Premium Times, PM News.
