Striking resident doctors dare minister, say members ‘not moved by any form of intimidation’

[By VICTOR NZE]

Striking members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have confronted the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chief Chris Ngige over his claims that the industrial action embarked upon by the medical practitioners was a ‘nonsense strike.’

The minister had also denied receiving a notice of an impending strike action, as he threatened to invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ labour law on the resident doctors if they failed to return to their stations by next week.

This is as the strike action by the resident entered its sixth day, Saturday, with public hospitals across the country either closed or operating skeletal services provided by medical consultants and nurses.

Reports indicate skeletal services at some of the public hospitals like; the National Hospital in Abuja, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), as well as, the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in Cross River, as consultants assisted by nurses now attend to patients.

Responding to the minister’s threat, NARD President, Okhuaihesuyi, said the ‘no work, no pay’ quoted by the minister if implemented would only be vindictive.

“That policy is extant but implementing it this time would only be vindictive and selective.

“However, our members are strongly determined to sacrifice everything for the soul of the medical profession and Nigerian patients.

“We will not be moved by any form of intimidation,” he said.

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 had said in a statement last Saturday that 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 the strike commenced early Monday and that the government had not reached out to the union since it gave notice of the strike action, adding further that his union represented 16,000 resident doctors out of a total of 42,000 doctors in Africa’s most populous country.

However, condemning the resident doctors for embarking on the industrial action, Ngige admitted that reconciliation with the striking resident doctors has failed, as he considered it ‘a waste of time’ negotiating with the doctors over what he called a ‘nonsense strike.’

Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, Friday, Ngige vowed to invoke extant labour laws on the striking doctors, warning that ‘things will happen next week,’ just as he joined the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in also blaming state governments for the situation, as he insisted people are only focusing on the Federal Government.

“Next week I’ll escalate this issue because reconciliation has failed. I won’t meet them anymore because I have other things to do. I did two reconciliation (meetings) yesterday (Thursday). Am I going to be wasting my time with them?

“I have other tools within the labour laws and I will do it. I invoked Section 43 of the labour laws this afternoon. I have communicated it to NARD. They will not receive money for the period they are on strike and it will never count as a period of pensionable position in their career.

“Even the International Labour Organisation supports it because they render essential services. They are not supposed to go on strike without notifying me 15 days before the day of strike.

“As we speak, I have not received any notification that is why I am invoking Section 43 of the Labour Act on withdrawal of services, right to strike and the right to protect the employer and their patients.

“Things will happen next week. Let them wait because they are taking government for a ride and it is wrong. They are playing with lives.

“My children are medical doctors and I have warned them not to be part of this nonsense strike,” the minister talked tough.

In absolving the Federal Government of responsibility for the strike by the resident doctors, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, had earlier Thursday, in Abuja during a press briefing on Federal Government’s response to the five-day old industrial action, faulted the medical practitioners, whom he accused of using the anxiety surrounding the third wave of COVID-19 to push forward their demands.

The minister’s present position amounts to a U-turn, as he had in a statement, earlier on Saturday, said the ministry is engaging the striking doctors to resolve the issues quickly, adding that medical directors should ensure service delivery is not disrupted.

According to the minister, seven out of the 12 demands presented by NARD were within the jurisdiction of the state governments, insisting that these were not justifiable cause for a nationwide strike.

“In their notice of July 25, 2021, they mentioned states like Imo, Kaduna, Delta and Lagos. The Federal Government cannot force these states to do anything.

“For the issues surrounding the Federal Government, not all of these issues are for the Ministry of Health. The payment lies within the powers of the Accountant General of the Federation. We are also working with other agencies to sort out some of these issues.”

Ehanire also said he hoped the doctors would understand that the ongoing strike would not give them a good image.

“I believe they will call a meeting and reassess some of the issues they tabled.

“We already have people who have retired coming in to say they want to step in. This is not a good time to go on strike.”