Resident doctors commence indefinite strike

By Biola Adebayo On Jul 26, 2023

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The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared an indefinite nationwide strike.

NARD National President, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, said the strike commenced at 12 midnight of Tuesday.

Innocent said the strike was declared during the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Lagos.

He said the major demands of the association are immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) , immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.

It had in a communique issued after its virtual extraordinary national executive council (NEC) meeting decried government ‘s slow response to its demands despite giving it several ultimatums and embarking on a five-day warning strike from May 17th to 21st this year.

It said, “The resolutions of the conciliatory meeting chaired by the then Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment were yet to be implemented, seven weeks after, despite the set time lines for their implementation.”

NARD said the major demands of the association are : immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) , immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

Others 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.