Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if the government fails to resolve issues revolving around the welfare and safety of its members.
The NARD accused Federal Government of paying lip service to the welfare of health workers, especially as it concerns the review of hazard allowances and life insurance, which it said is active only on the pages of newspapers.
While demanding for the reinstatement of 26 of its members who were illegally sacked in Jos, the Association disclosed that some State Governments have chosen this critical and wrong time in the country to slash the salaries of health workers.
According to President of NARD, Dr. Aliyu Sokomba, the illegal disengagement of 26 resident doctors at Jos University Teaching Hospital in the face of this pandemic without recourse to the law governing the Residency training is one of the paramount issues they believed, should not only be addressed but also an apology be issued to those affected.
He pointed out that their stand is that if there is anyone that is due to be disengaged, the person should be disengaged, but added that they cannot tolerate illegal disengagement of people without recourse to the Residency Training Program.
They demanded immediate recall of the sacked resident doctors at Jos as well as payments of their salaries.
The NARD President disclosed that secondly, the residency training itself has not been implemented for some time now, even though there is already an Act enacted that was timed as far back as 2017, which partly stated that there shall be funding for the program and people who are not able to finish their program in good time will be disengaged.
He revealed that government has decided to implement part of the Act that says that one should disengage them when they do not finish their program, but has failed to implement the part that says one should fund their program.
He, however, pointed out that this is without prejudice to what is happening in Jos because what is happening in Jos is that the Act was totally abandoned and they illegally disengaged them.
Dr Sokomba posited that what is worse is that all of this is happening when they thought that measures would be rolled out to address the COVID-19 and at least, if not improve the condition of doctors, then, the status Quo should be maintained, but that in the other hand, what they, what they got was further assault.
He further added that the Federal Government on their own agreed to review the hazard allowance of healthcare workers in Nigeria which was widely published and publicised, but three months down the lane, nothing has been done, and that thei hazard allowance even as at May is still reflecting the five thousand naira hazard allowance they claimed they have reviewed.
They expressed dismay that there is no sincerity in the way and manner government is handling the matter.
