Breaking: Resident doctors begin 5-day warning strike

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared a five-day warning strike over the failure of the Federal Government to meet its demands.

The resident doctors said the strike will commence on Wednesday, May 17, and will end on Monday, May 22.

The doctors made this known after their extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held virtually on Monday, May 15.

The association had, on April 29, issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to implement the agreements had with the association or face industrial action.

The ultimatum, however, ended on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

READ ALSO: Resident doctors theatren strike, give FG 2-week ultimatum to implement agreements

The doctors are demanding an immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the tune of 200 per cent of the current gross salary of doctors and the new allowances included in the letter written by the association to the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on July 7, 2022, on the review of CONMESS.

The NARD said: “In spite of several engagements with the Federal Government on the need to upwardly review CONMESS, which was last reviewed over 10 years ago, there are no changes.

“The Federal Government has neither called NARD to the negotiation table nor taken any tangible step in addressing the issue.

“This is against the background of the dwindling economic situation in the country, the serial abysmal decline in the value of the Naira, the imminent removal of fuel subsidy and the consequent damaging effect on the cost of living in the country.

“There have been previous ultimatums issued to the government by NARD on account of this problem of the review of the CONMESS salary structure.”

It added that the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on CONMESS stated clearly that the salary structure would be due for review after five years, but this has not been done since the implementation in 2014, though the approval was given in 2009.

The NARD also demanded the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) in line with the agreements reached at the stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Health.

It equally demanded the commencement of payment of all salary arrears owed to its members including 2014, 2015, and 2016 salary arrears as well as areas of the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage.

The Star