Allowance: Fresh crisis hit UCH as resident doctors embark on 5-days warning strike …Mgt kicks

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By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
Crisis is now rocking the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan over alleged non-payment of 4 months skipping allowance to resident doctors in the hospital.
The UCH management and the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the hospital are now in verbal war as the resident doctors on Wednesday embarked on a five-day warning strike to protest the non payment of their skipping allowance.
Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on the warning strike, the UCH ARD Chairman, Dr. Luqman Ogunjimi, said the strike was as a result of the failure of the UCH Management “to either dialogue or respond to an earlier mail sent” by ARD warning of the impending danger if their demands were not met by the Management.
In compliance with the resolution adopted at a congress held at 11 p.m. Tuesday on the warning strike, resident doctors in the hospital completely stayed away from all the wards in the hospital with no medical doctors attending to the in and out patients .
Commenting on the strike, the UCH management speaking through the Chief Medical Director, Professor Temitope Alonge described the strike as “self-serving, uncalled for and labour rascality” claiming that dialogue between the management and the ARD never broke down, and there was no notice.”
Professor Alonge said this was “much more so, as it is coming up at a time when about 1,000 doctors from different countries in the Sub-Region are converging on UCH for the West African College of Physicians Examination” saying,UCH is the first centre of the Examination and the most viable Foundation Centre in the Sub-Region.
He stressed that UCH was still running because all other doctors and consultants were on their duty posts, the Chief Medical Director and that patients and their families are safe, saying the striking doctors were still being engaged in dialogue.
Emphasizing that Federal government was yet to release allocation for the increased salaries and skipping allowances being agitated for by the striking resident doctors and that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, had on behalf of the Federal Government met all critical stakeholders on the issue during which he appealed to them to submit financial implications of the salary increase with the outcome of the efforts still being expected.
Professor Alonge however threatened that any unionist caught perpetrating violence in the hospital would be arrested, saying “that is not a threat. Force will be met with force”.

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