Minister of Labour and Employment, Chief Chris Ngige
Resident doctors’ strike: FG says only one demand left to be resolved
As the industrial action by resident doctors which has paralyzed medical services in public hospitals across the country enters its 35th day, Federal Government has disclosed that only one demand by the medical workers remained to be resolved.
Addressing State House Correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige disclosed that it has addressed all the demands of the striking doctors except the one on ‘no work no pay’ rule.
It would be recalled that the minister, last week, had told the state Commissioners of Health gathered in Abuja for a meeting that the question of the ‘no work, no pay’ rule was not an issue as government will resolved it pending when the striking resident doctors call off their strike action.
Ngige, therefore, urged members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to call off their over one month-old strike.
“We have come to an agreement on all the demands including those that even affect the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria and the medical Doctors who are in the academics and teaching in universities.
“So, we have handled all, the only point of disagreement now is that they said that in the memorandum of action, government should insert or include that section 43 of the trade dispute act should not apply to them. That section says that when a worker withdraws his services from his employer, the employer is at liberty to withhold payment of emolument to him.
He said the Nigerian government will never be a party to such an agreement or grant such a request.
“So this is where we are with them and we are saying that even if anybody cares to put it in any agreement, that clause would be void ab-initio because it is against the law of the land and we will not as a government succumb to condole arm twisting and sign that.”
The Minister said it was unfortunate that the strike is taking so long because, in other climes, people on essential services like the health sector don’t go on strike arbitrarily.
“Overseas and other climes, you don’t strike for more than 3-5 days highest. Much more importantly, people on essential services; medical services in particular, where u can lose lives, they don’t go on strike anyhow. They only piquet and things like that because people’s lives are involved,” he said.
According to the minister, the ‘no work no pay’ rule had been applied in the past and the case of the resident doctors cannot be an exception.
“Other workers have lost their pay during strike, the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) lost their pay in 2018, when they went on four months’ strike, they lost about two or three months’ pay when the ‘no work no pay’ was invoked.
“Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) ‘no work no pay’ applied to them, nobody paid them anything for six months and it was during COVID so, we can handle things administratively but nobody should arm-twist,” he said.
The Minister called on the striking doctors to resume work first, in order to give room for further action on their sole demand that has not been granted.
“I have briefed the President and we have agreed that they should come back to work. And if they do, we can take other things from there,” he pledged.
Meanwhile, the 15-day ultimatum issued by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) ahead of a nationwide strike has clocked down to less than 12 days.
