By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Failure to meet the demands of the resident doctors in the country by the federal government, the association has threatened to go on strike.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), in a letter by its President, Dr Emeka Innocent Orji, to the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, stated that failure by the government to meet its demands before its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting slated for January 24 to 28, the processes for the strike would commence.
The association said, “Sir, our January 2023 National Executive Council meeting has been scheduled for January 24th to 28th, 2023, and we can confirm very clearly feelers that if these issues are not sorted out before that meeting, our members will likely give us a mandate to immediately kick-start processes that will lead to a nationwide industrial disharmony in the health sector.”
About six months ago, NARD had earlier issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government in relation of the lingering unresolved issues affecting its members, such as the irregularities in the new circular on an upward review of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).
Others are outstanding payment of the arrears of the new hazard allowance, non-payment of the skipping arrears for 2014, 2015 and 2016, and non-payment of the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage to some of its members.
The lingering unresolved issues, according to NARD include the delay in the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure(CONMESS), salary arrears of its members in state tertiary health institutions running into several months, including Abia, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti and Gombe States, and non-domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act (MRTA) in most states across the federation.
The departments and agencies through its ministries, according to NARD, are resolving some of the issues raised but lamented that many of them remain largely unresolved and have now become sources of serious nationwide agitation threatening industrial peace and harmony in the health sector.
“The omitted 2020 MRTF payment, irregularities in the new MRTF circular inconsistent with the Medical Residency Training Act, existing collective bargaining agreements and current economic realities and review of CONMESS salary structure are some of other issues bordering the association,” NARD said.
The association said that it knows how critical the period is and the chaos that would ensue if the government does not take steps to prevent this from happening and humbly implored the minister to use his good office to resolve these issues before their January NEC meeting and save the nation from imminent industrial disharmony.
NARD also copied the letter to the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of Federation, ministers of Labour and Finance respectively, as well as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF), among others with the view of halting the impending strike.
