Varsity Resident Doctors Resume Duty After Strike

Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, resumed work yesterday after a month-long nationwide strike.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the doctors had been on strike since November 1, following the directives of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

The NARD had directed its members nationwide to embark on an indefinite strike, following the federal government’s failure to address the doctors’ demands.

The association demanded a 200 per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and the full implementation of new allowances proposed from July 2022.

The doctors also demanded immediate recruitment of clinical staff and the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks that are delaying the replacement of existing doctors, among other demands.

The President of the UCH ARD, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, said that the National Executive Council (NEC) of NARD met on November 29 to reappraise the strike action.

He noted that the government had met most of its immediate and short-term demands, necessitating the suspension of the industrial action.

According to Ajibola, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed with the government, enumerating each of the association’s demands and the points of execution.

“Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and give the government a period of four weeks to re-appraise the efforts of the government as contained in the signed MoU.

“Having suspended the strike on November 29, as in the tradition of NARD, each centre was mandated to hold a congress on December 1, for all centre presidents to brief their members on the development.

“After the brief, the centre presidents will direct all members to resume at their duty posts.

“In compliance with this, a congress was held at 8 a.m. today (Monday), where members were updated and directed to resume work,” he said.

Ajibola emphasised that all members have now resumed at their duty posts on Monday.