Doctors defy FG, embark on indefinite strike action

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has made good their threat to embark on a nationwide strike, if the Federal Government does not pay up their outstanding salaries and allowances.

The President of NARD, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, made this known on a monitored programme on Channels Television.

You would recall that, NARD had threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from April 1, if salaries and allowances of members were not paid.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had on behalf of the Federal Government appealed to the doctors to suspend the action, in a meeting with representatives of the association.

Ngige appealed to the doctors to reconsider going on strike because their withdrawal of service may cause damage to the country’s health system which is already stressed by COVID-19.

Okhuaihesuyi however said the strike would go on as planned.

He said, ‘The strike commenced 8 am, Thursday, April 1 and we enjoin all resident doctors to start the strike immediately.”

He further said “We had a meeting with the minister of labour from 4 pm to about 12 am this morning, but as it stands; we have been used to memorandum of understandings for over a decade now, and we insist on the implementation of what we wrote on our strike message.

“We’re not just doing this for resident doctors, we’re doing this for all heath workers.”