More than two weeks after it embarked on a nationwide industrial action over unsatisfied lawsuits, the Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians (NARD) has asked its members to resume work at 8 am on Saturday (today).
The president of the association, Emeka Orji, confirmed the news to this newspaper on the morning of this Saturday.
Orji said the doctors will review the progress made in two weeks.
“We have just called off the strike. Work to resume Saturday at 8 am,” she said.
“We will review the progress in two weeks.”
doctors strike
NARD members embarked on industrial action on July 26 following the failure of the Nigerian government to comply with their demands.
The doctors’ demands, among many others, include immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), tangible steps in “upgrading” the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and payment of all back wages owed to its members 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, as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training takes place.
Newslodge reported how the strike disrupted healthcare services at healthcare facilities in some major parts of the country.
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
aborted protest
The striking doctors had previously planned to start a daily peaceful protest, starting Wednesday, if the government did not meet their demands.
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.
However, the doctors called off the planned protest after a closed-door meeting with top Senate officials on Tuesday.
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