He Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called on the Nigerian government to finalize measures to resolve all areas of disagreement with members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians (NARD).
The NMA, in a statement signed by its president, Uche Ojinmah, and obtained by Newslodge on Tuesday, said the avoidable labor dispute has dragged on too long to the detriment of ordinary Nigerians.
The association said the government needed to quickly conclude measures to resolve all areas of disagreement and “avoid all punitive responses in the interest of industrial harmony.”
“The NMA, as the coordinating body for all doctors in Nigeria, is the parent association of NARD and therefore, as a matter of policy, should protect/promote their interest,” the statement read.
“We believe this avoidable labor dispute has gone on for far too long to the detriment of ordinary Nigerians. We hereby call on our government to swiftly conclude measures to resolve all areas of disagreement and avoid all punitive responses in the interest of industrial harmony.”
NMA also called on NARD to extend a goodwill gesture towards the government in the interest of suffering patients and fellow citizens.
doctors strike
The resident doctors embarked on an indefinite industrial action on July 26 following the failure of the Nigerian government to comply with their demands.
The doctors are demanding, among other issues, immediate payment from the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), tangible steps in the “upward revision” of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and payment of all back wages. to its affiliates. since 2015.
Doctors also want the immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in hospitals and the abolition of bureaucratic constraints on the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses leaving the system.
They also want immediate risk allowance review by all state governments and private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training takes place.
Resident physicians comprise the majority of the medical staff in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria; therefore, health activities are mostly paralyzed when they are on strike.
peaceful protest
The striking doctors said they would begin a daily peaceful protest starting tomorrow, Wednesday, if the federal government does not meet their demand.
The decision followed the Nigerian government’s directive to the management of federal tertiary hospitals to start applying the “no work, no pay” policy against striking doctors.
This policy means that doctors who continue to be away from their jobs will not receive their regular salaries for the duration of the strike.
In a letter dated August 1, the government instructed hospitals to implement a ‘no work, no pay’ policy and maintain attendance records for resident doctors willing to continue working despite the strike.
The striking doctors, however, said the government had no moral justification for its action.
He said that instead of making genuine and concerted efforts to resolve the challenges that led to industrial action; the government has chosen to “demonize” doctors.
“Therefore, we decided that it is time for the whole world to hear our side of history: the decline and corruption in the health sector, as well as the neglect that public health institutions have suffered during all these years that led to repeated industrial actions. ”
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