The National Association of Resident Doctors, (NARD), has suspended its 5-day nationwide warning strike.
Dr. Emeka Orji, National President of the association, while briefing the newsmen, said that work resumes by today 8a.m., at all federal and state Teaching Hospitals as well as other hospitals where resident doctors are trained.
He said: “Strike has been suspended and work resumes at 8a.m., tomorrow (today). Progress made will be reviewed on June 2. 2023, during our general meeting where the next line of action will be decided.”
It could be recalled that the doctors under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, began a five-day warning strike in public health facilities across the federation on Wednesday last week.
Some of the demands of the doctors include; immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals and abolishment of the bureaucratic limitations to the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses who leave the system, immediate infrastructural development in public hospitals with a subsequent allocation of at least 15 percent of the budgetary provisions to health in line with the Abuja declaration of 2001 and immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, to the tune of 200 per cent of the gross salary of doctors among others.
Doctors strike: NMA, NERD sign MoU with FG
The Federal Government has reached an agreement with the striking doctors on the ongoing industrial action.
This is coming following a meeting held by Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, with the leadership of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The Informant247 gathered that the meeting, which started on Friday evening and ended on Saturday, had in attendance the President of NMA, Dr Uche Ojinmah, and his counterpart from NARD, Dr Emeka Orji, among other government officials.
Olajide Oshundun, the spokesman of the ministry, while addressing the journalists, said that the parties, namely, the Federal Government, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), had reached an agreement to halt the five-day nationwide warning strike of resident doctors.
According to him: “All eight issues raised by the striking resident doctors have been addressed; the fund for the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) has been captured in the 2023 Appropriation, and the payment would commence when the operation of the 2023 budget begins.”
Oshundun also stated that the Federal Government advised striking resident doctors in the country to embrace more persuasion and social dialogue at the state level in order to have their issues resolved before embarking on strike.
The meeting observed that states cannot be compelled to domesticate the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) and cannot pay the same amount as the Federal Government.
