The five-day warning strike declared by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), following government failure to meet its demands begins today.
NARD in a communique issued at the end of its Extraordinary National Executive Council Meeting (E-NEC) on Monday, called on the federal government to address the issues raised before the May 29 handover date.
NARD president, Dr. Emeka Innocent Orji, threatened that further industrial harmony cannot be guaranteed after the warning strike should the issues be left unresolved.
Officials of NARD confirmed to LEADERSHIP last night that the warning strike will hold as planned.
“The meeting was convened to review progress made and actions taken by the government to address the issues raised in the two-week ultimatum issued on the 29th of April 2023 to the federal government, which expired on Saturday, the 13th of May 2023.
“After a long deliberation on the observations made, NEC resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike action from 8:00 am on Wednesday, 17th May 2023 to Sunday, 21st May 2023. Work resumes by 8:00 am on Monday, 22nd May 2023, “ he said.
The demands by 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 our hospitals with subsequent allocation of at least 15 percent of the budgetary provisions to health in line with the Abuja declaration of 2001.
“Immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) in line with the agreements reached at the stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Health at the conference room of the minister of state for health on the 15th of February 2023.”
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