ESUTH-TH Resident Doctors
Resident doctors reject new deal with FG over ‘strange clause’ in agreement
Striking members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have rejected a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) brokered by Nigeria Medical Association in negotiations with the Federal Government, signaling continuation of the over three-week old industrial action.
President of the association, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, refused to assent to the MoU as a result of a clause which he noted was included in the new deal, adding that he needed to confer with his members before agreeing to it.
Okhuaihesuyi said NARD’s leadership will have to consult with members of the association before appending his signature.
Speaking with journalists at the end of a meeting held behind closed doors for over six hours, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said all other unions in the negotiation, including the Nigeria Medical Association and the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, signed the new agreement, having agreed on all the issues raised.
The minister however that the meeting did not discuss the issues of ‘no work, no pay,’ but said all parties at the meeting agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
The federal government had dragged the striking doctors before the National Industrial Court, asking it to mandate the doctors to return to work.
Medical professionals under the aegis of NARD had declared an industrial action since, Monday, August 2 to press home their demands for implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding it reached with the Federal Government in March 2021 on welfare and other issues that affect members.
NARD is protesting salary shortfalls stretching over months, failure to pay some doctors COVID-19 allowances and shortages of manpower in hospitals were among the reasons that had pushed its members to strike.
Uyilawa said his union represented 16,000 resident doctors out of a total of 42,000 doctors in Africa’s most populous country.
