The federal government has directed the chief medical directors and medical directors in the federal tertiary hospitals to invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ rule on the striking members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
It also requested the hospital chief executives to maintain an attendance register for all residents willing to work and furnish the ministry of such name on a monthly basis.
Recall that the NARD had declared a total and indefinite strike beginning Wednesday, July 26, 2023 following the breakdown of negotiations with the federal government.
The association demands immediate payment of the 2023 medical residency training fund (MRTF), release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, payment of skipping arrears, and upward review of consolidated medical salary structure (CONMESS) in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.
The other demands are payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to the omitted doctors, reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in state tertiary health institutions, and payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.
In the letter addressed to the federal hospital chiefs dated August 1, 2023 and entitled ‘Re: Incessant strike action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors: Implementation of ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy of the Federal Government’ the government frowned that the various meetings with the NARD leadership had proved abortive.
The letter signed by the director of hospital services in the federal ministry of health, Dr Andrew Noah, said in part: “The various conciliatory meetings by the federal ministry of health, federal ministry of labour and employment with government stakeholders, secretary to the government of the federation, and the national assembly have proved abortive.
“I am directed to inform you that the Federal Ministry of Health has instituted the policy of ‘No work, No Pay’ against the striking resident doctors in line with circular Ref. No.58598/8.1/II/182 dated June 22, 2016.
“I am further directed to request you to maintain an attendance register for all residents willing to work and furnish the ministry of such name on a monthly basis.”
Reacting to the ‘no work, no pay’ threat, NARD president, Dr Emeka Orji, said the doctors would escalate the strike beginning next week.
Well it’s unfortunate that the federal ministry of health that has done a very poor job is trying to shift blame for their failures to other ministries and trying to say that because they don’t have a substantive minister they can’t do anything.
“They are now developing the capacity to think that the best thing to do is to start implementing punitive measures.
Things are going to escalate by next week, people are really angry, doctors are angry. They are angry that the government has not resolved any of the issues placed on the table and then the Ministry of Health is thinking along the line of punitive measures,” he said.
“From Monday there will be a level of escalation that they will not imagine. It’s unfortunate that we have gotten to that point. But they called for it and, I know our members will respond,” he told Premium Times.
