By Salim Yunusa
The Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians (NARD) says any work and compensation ban directives issued by the federal government to force the association to end its indefinite strike will not work.
Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, chairman of NARD, said this in an interviewin Abuja.
On the contrary, Okhuaihesuyi urged the federal government to hold relevant agencies accountable for resolving issues previously raised by the association during its previous strike in April for dereliction of duty.
“The federal government could insist on the principle of no work, no pay. They can try to threaten us with this directive from tomorrow; they can do it, but they have to remember that anyone who did not do their job first should also be punished.
“Relevant government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that have not yet fulfilled their functions in ensuring that these issues are resolved should be held accountable, as this strike will not take place if they have done so.
“Some members of the association receive 5,000 naira as a risk allowance when members of the upper and lower houses of the National Assembly receive between 1.2 million naira and three million naira or more, for the allowance. of subjection.
“We have to define our priorities well. We have lost 19 residents to COVID-19, and as it is, their families have yet to receive any death benefits.We cannot ignore the fact that the doctors who died in the line of duty during the COVID-19 pandemic have families and children attending schools and in need of food and survival,” he said.
Okhuaihesuyi said that although the association is aware of the difficulty that the absence of doctors in hospitals would pose to patient care, the strike was necessary to ensure that doctors are no longer denied their dues to allow them to function optimally.
“Our demands are not new to the government. The salary structure for doctors needs to be improved as there is non-payment of salaries for many health workers in some states and also an irregular salary structure in others. Some health workers receive incomplete salaries.
“For example, doctors in Imo State have not received their salary for about eight months and there is a non-salary payment for doctors at Abia State University Hospital for 19 months. There has been a non-payment of salaries for physicians at Federal Medical Center (FMC) Ekiti for over a year.
“Physicians need to be captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to streamline the salary structure, ensure compliance and consistency of payments,” said the president of NARD.
Okhuaihesuyi also urged the federal government to address issues raised by the association in order to prevent further strikes resulting in lack of access to health care for the public.
“CTF Resident Doctors have responded to the national call to call an indefinite strike and they began the strike at 8 am on August 2, 2021. In the CTF alone, there are approximately 15,000 medical residents.
“Resident physicians constitute the largest number of physicians in teaching hospitals in Nigeria, so it is invariably primarily us who are at the first point when patients present to the hospital. The outbreak of a strike means that the delivery of health care will be greatly affected in hospitals across the country,” he said.
NAN reports that NARD has embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike to enforce the memorandum of understanding it reached with the federal government in March 2021.
